Gazelle Wind Power and Tugdock have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop a modular offshore wind assembly system which could drive down costs and increase production of floating offshore wind farms.
The first project for the new partnership will be Italy’s largest offshore wind farm, the Molise Offshore Wind Farm project in the Adriatic Sea, where the combined technologies will help install 70 turbines, aiming to generate 1.05 GW of power.
The Molise Offshore Wind Farm will cover a total area of 219 square kilometers, and the turbines will be located in waters spanning depths of a minimum of 88 meters to a maximum of 126 meters. The first platform is planned to be launched in January 2028.
Gazelle, an Ireland-based developer of next-generation floating offshore wind platform, and Tugdock, a UK company which has designed the world’s first road-transportable floating dry dock known as the Tugdock Submersible Platform, will pool their expertise to accelerate the development of the innovative assembly system.
Shane Carr, CEO of Tugdock, said: “This pioneering partnership combines the advantages of two innovative modular technologies that complement each other perfectly. This represents a game-changing solution for developers and a major step forward for offshore renewable energy.”
Jon Salazar, CEO of Gazelle Wind Power, added: “Working with Tugdock, we have the ideal way to assemble our modular platform, using minimal port space. This partnership is driving the production rates up and costs down. Our vision is to be the benchmark for floating offshore platforms across global markets and make a significant contribution to net-zero goals.”