High capacity, shallow draft, ocean-borne wind turbine
AssigneeTows, Inc.
InventorsAndrew T. Myers, Jeremy J. Papadopoulos
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high capacity, shallow draft, ocean-borne wind turbine is described, featuring a floating structure with at least three floats and a turbine rotor coupled to a generator with a power capacity of at least 3 MW. The turbine includes multiple blades, each with a length, and an operational draft less than about one-sixth of the blade length. Variations include configurations with round surface piercing floats and specific arrangements of four floats in a square formation. The design ensures a draft in operation of less than 1 meter per MW of rated capacity, providing an efficient and stable platform for offshore wind energy generation.
Claims1
A shallow draft, ocean-borne wind turbine having a mass of at least 30,000 kg, the wind turbine comprising:
- a square floating structure of four interconnected circular floats defining an area, A, the floats connected diagonally with rigid trusses;
- a superstructure extending upward from the floating structure comprising four struts supported by respective floats and forming an apex;
- a nacelle-less turbine rotor mounted at the apex, the rotor including a direct drive generator;
- a plurality of turbine blades for driving the rotor, each turbine blade having a length, l;
- and
- wherein the floating structure is moored with a mooring cable attached to a fixed underwater mooring point;
- and
- wherein the wind turbine has a rate power capacity of at least 3 MW;
- and
- wherein the draft in operation of the floating structure is less than l/6.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.