That would ultimately maximize their power output, making them more profitable. If these controls are successful, the floating turbine could automatically adjust itself to catch strong gales without tipping over. The controls, built-in sensors and computers, improve how the turbine responds to wind and waves. GE is working to couple the design of an existing 12MW turbine and platform with automated controls so that they can work together in a more streamlined way. The big differences are the design of the platform holding it up and the controls used to maneuver them on rough open ocean. The turbines themselves are essentially the same as other turbines fixed to the seafloor. “Putting a bus on a tall pole, making it float” Today, they’re revealing some details of their design during an “ Energy Innovation Summit” hosted by the DOE.ĭesigning a turbine that can float gracefully on the water is like “putting a bus on a tall pole, making it float and then stabilizing it while it interacts with wind and waves,” according to Rogier Blom, GE’s principal investigator for the project. If the company can prove, through modeling and simulations, that its design will work, then it might move forward with its partners on the project to build a prototype. GE received a $3 million award from the US Department of Energy to support the two-year project, which started last year. They’re pairing this with their largest turbine model, which is nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty and Washington Monument combined. GE hopes to solve some of those problems through advanced turbine controls that it’s developing alongside consulting firm Glosten. And because they’re floating, they also face a barrage of technical challenges that turbines fixed to the seabed don’t have to weather. While they hold a lot of potential, the floating behemoths have so far been too costly to deploy at commercial scale. Make massive swathes of deep ocean available to offshore wind