• TEPCO Renewable Power (TEPCO RP) has joined the TetraSpar floating foundation demonstration project, alongside Shell, RWE, and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies
• TEPCO RP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and brings valuable competences to the project
• Commissioning is scheduled for 2021

The TetraSpar full-scale demonstration project has completed the onshore assembly of an innovative factory-made floating offshore wind foundation in the port of Grenaa, Denmark. As the project is ready to move onto the next phases, TEPCO RP joins the partnership, bringing valuable competences to the project.

The TetraSpar foundation is a tetrahedral structure assembled from tubular steel components. The components were manufactured at the facilities of the Danish wind turbine tower manufacturer Welcon A/S. The components were then transported to the port of Grenaa over the summer 2020 and were assembled in October and November 2020 in less than two months. The assembly involves no welding or other special process. All relevant methods required for manufacturing and assembly have been verified, and key elements of the assembly process took less time than previously expected. This indicates that the standardization and industrialization approach of the TetraSpar concept could be able to deliver cost and logistics advantages in comparison to other existing floating concepts.

Seiichi Fubasami, President of TEPCO RP, said:
“We are very happy to be able to participate in this groundbreaking project. The TetraSpar technology can also be utilized in Japan’s natural conditions and a more efficient supply chain can be established closer to the project sites. We believe that it is a promising technology that can play an important part in efforts to promote the transition to renewable energies as primary energy sources. Our corporate philosophy is ‘Harnessing the Natural Resources to Energy, and further to Society’, and we intend to promote the use of renewable energies within Japan and overseas.”

Henrik Stiesdal, Chairman of the board of directors of Tetra Spar Demonstrator ApS, said:
“We are very excited about the expanded and now strengthened partnership with TEPCO RP on board. TEPCO brings valuable competences to the project, both from its research into floating offshore wind power, and from the power sector in general. With TEPCO onboard we can expand the scope of the demonstration project in several ways, including an increased technical range of testing. Completing the onshore assembly of our first full-scale demonstration project was a very important milestone for the consortium. We would not have reached this result without the support from, and engagement by, our partners and suppliers. We now look forward to further enhancing the strength of the partnership with TEPCO RP during the next phases of the project execution.”

Following the launch of the foundation in 2021, the wind turbine will be mounted on the foundation at the quayside using a land-based crane. From there, the combined structure will be towed to the test site in the northern part of the North Sea, moored to the seabed with three anchor lines and connected to the electrical grid. It will be located approximately 10 km from shore in water depths of 200 m at the test site of the Marine Energy Test Centre (Metcentre) near Stavanger in Norway. The demonstration project will use a 3.6 MW direct drive offshore wind turbine from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. The commissioning is planned for summer 2021.

The Tetra concept offers important competitive advantages over existing floating wind concepts, with the potential for leaner manufacturing, assembly, and installation processes, and with lower material costs.

Through their collaboration on this demonstration project, the four partnering companies will obtain knowledge in construction, installation, and operation, together with detailed data on these areas, and further refine the TetraSpar technology. The partners will make full use of the results obtained to expand the possibilities of offshore wind power and contribute to the realization of a clean and sustainable carbon-neutral society.

The share structure after TEPCO RP’s project entry is:
Shell: 46.2%
TEPCO RP: 30.0%
RWE: 23.1%
Stiesdal Offshore Technologies: 0.7%