Could you briefly present your organization and its role within FLOATFARM?
Seapower is an italian non-profit research center participated by University of Naples “Federico II”. It focuses on R&D projects in the field of industrial engineering, with particular focus on ocean and wind renewable energy. It employs around 20 professionals with different backgrounds, including aerospace, mechanical, environmental, electrical, and electronic engineers. Seapower has two operational sites in Naples, one of which is located within the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University, where experimental test campaigns can be carried out in both the towing/wave tank and the wind tunnel.
Regarding FLOATFARM participation, Seapower is responsible of the Economic Assessment work package, in which a floating wind turbine cost model is being developed and integrated into an optimization framework, and subsequently extended to a floating wind farm.
Could you briefly explain the work done by Seapower since the start of the project?
Seapower has completed Milestone MS12, “Cost model integration in the optimization framework”, the first outcome of its activities. The milestone includes analyses based on a set of computational tools developed and integrated into the WP7 framework, with the Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) serving as the main metric for the economic assessment. The estimation of costs and energy production performance within the LCOE model depends on several variables, such as: turbine and farm configuration (geometry of the main turbine components and farm layout); environmental parameters (met-ocean conditions affecting floating turbine response) and operating conditions (defined by the Design load cases (DLCs) examined in the analysis, including normal production and extreme conditions). The main results include the integration of OPEX, wake losses and fixed charge rate estimations into the framework. Seapower is currently improving the mooring cost estimation included in the substructure cost, with the aim of increasing the reliability of the LCOE calculation.
What do you expect to achieve in 2026?
In the remaining part of the WP duration the work done so far will be consolidated and enhanced with new improvements to the cost model. The LCOE estimation model will be used in the further development of the work package to carry out the economic assessment of different turbine and farm configurations, evaluating their economic effectiveness. Moreover, two deliverables will be completed by the end of the year: one is a technical report on the impact of these technologies on the LCOE and the other is a combined report on the impact on farm level LCOE and the influence of smart control and shared moorings on the turbines. During this process we have also been facing some problems connected to the difficulties in modelling structures in the more general cost model process since these models have to be inserted in existing numerical codes which are not always easy to handle. In any case this has forced us to develop specific structural models to easy the inclusion in existing cost estimation framework.
From a research perspective, what’s the advantage of being part of a European project like FLOATFARM?
Seapower’s path began in 1988 as a small university group and has always been characterized by continuous development from its earliest steps to the present days. In this context, being part of FLOATFARM represents an important milestone in its growing path, enabling collaboration and exchange with European universities, research and industrial partners.
Why have you decided to join the consortium?
Seapower was involved in the previous FLOATECH floating offshore wind project. By joining the FLOATFARM consortium, which aims to further increase the technological readiness of offshore wind technologies, Seapower can extend its expertise in the promising field of floating offshore wind turbines. Furthermore, the outcomes form this participation will enhance and promote innovative technologies for the energy transition and achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal, in line with the company’s vision and main objectives.
