Floating Wind Turbine Platform with Ballast Control and Mooring System
AssigneePrinciple Power, Inc.
InventorsDominique Roddier, Christian Cermelli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floating wind turbine platform includes stabilizing columns, a tower, water-entrapment plates connected to the stabilizing columns, and a ballast control system. The tower is mounted over one of the columns. The stabilizing columns include internal volumes for containing a ballast. The ballast control system includes an alignment sensor and a controller. The alignment sensor is configured to detect a rotation of the tower. The controller is configured to direct a transfer of ballast from one column to another column to adjust an alignment of the tower.
Claims18
A floating wind turbine platform comprising:
- a) at least three stabilizing columns, each column having an upper and a lower end, and an internal volume for containing a ballast;
- b) a tower having an upper end and a lower end that is coupled to the floating wind turbine platform, the tower is mounted in vertical alignment over one of the columns and the other columns are not directly under the tower;
- c) a turbine rotor coupled to an electrical generator, the turbine rotor and the electrical generator are mounted proximate to the upper end of the tower;
- d) main beams interconnected to the at least three stabilizing columns;
- e) water-entrapment plates, each of the plates attached to the lower end of one of the stabilizing columns;
- and
- f) a ballast control system including an alignment sensor configured to detect a rotation of the tower, and a controller coupled to the alignment sensor, the controller configured to direct a transfer of the ballast from an internal volume of one of the columns to an internal volume of at least one of the other columns upon the alignment sensor detecting rotation of the tower to adjust a vertical alignment of the tower.
A floating wind turbine platform comprising:
- a) at least three stabilizing columns, each column having an upper and a lower end, and an internal volume for containing a ballast;
- b) a tower having an upper end and a lower end that is coupled to the floating wind turbine platform, the tower is mounted in vertical alignment over one of the columns and the other columns are not directly under the tower;
- c) a turbine rotor coupled to an electrical generator, the turbine rotor and the electrical generator are mounted proximate to the upper end of the tower;
- d) main beams interconnected to the at least three stabilizing columns;
- e) water-entrapment plates, each of the plates attached to the lower end of one of the at least three stabilizing columns;
- and
- f) a mooring including:
- a plurality of sets of mooring lines, each set coupled to one of the at least three stabilizing columns lower ends;
- and
- a plurality of anchors embedded in a sea floor and each anchor coupled to one of the mooring lines;
- wherein a number of mooring lines in the set attached to one of the at least three stabilizing columns lower ends is different from the numbers of mooring lines in the sets attached to each of the other stabilizing columns lower ends.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.