Spain's Amper, Sener to develop floating platforms for 15-MW-plus turbines

January 19 (Renewables Now) - Spanish industrial engineering group Amper SA (BME:AMP) on Wednesday said that it has signed an agreement with Sener Renewable Investments, a renewables-focused unit of peer Sener Group, to develop and market floating offshore wind technology.

Under the agreement, Amper, through its subsidiary Nervion Naval-Offshore, and Sener will work on developing a steel semi-submersible floating platform for turbines with capacity greater than 15 MW.

According to Amper, the partners have a prototype called Hive Wind in the engineering development phase. In the coming weeks, the Hive Wind platform will be tested on a reduced scale at facilities run by research institution IHCantrabria in northern Spain.

Both companies will bring their engineering capabilities and experience from the renewables sector, Amper adds. Sener Renewable Investments has been promoting floating wind projects in Spain since 2020, while Amper’s Nervion was hired to build and assemble platforms for the now operational 50-MW Kincardine floating wind farm off Scotland.