The Ministry for the Ecological Transition confirmed on Wednesday the prior authorization for the WHEEL project, an experimental 6 MW wind turbine that will be tested in PLOCAN waters with a connection to Jinámar. It is part of the race to develop floating offshore wind technology in the Canary Islands. The Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines has granted engineering firm Esteyco prior administrative authorization to install its WHEEL floating prototype (Wind Hybrid Esteyco Evolution for Low-Carbon solutions), a 6-megawatt (MW) experimental platform designed to generate electricity in deep waters.
The project, whose official resolution was made public by the Industry and Energy Functional Area of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, calls for the installation to be located in territorial waters off the coastal stretch between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde, within the designated perimeter of the Canary Islands Ocean Platform (PLOCAN).
The floating installation will occupy a marine area of 1,300 square meters and will be equipped with a two-bladed turbine supplied by 2-BEnergy. The structure will have a hub height of 85 meters and a rotor diameter of 140.60 meters, enabling it to reach its rated capacity of 6 MW.
To transmit the electricity generated, the design incorporates a 20-kilovolt (kV), three-kilometer submarine power cable. The cable will connect directly to the existing Mario Luis Romero Torrent (MLRT/ELICAN) wind prototype, operated in the same PLOCAN area, through which the electricity will ultimately be fed into the general grid at the Jinámar land-based substation (66 kV) using existing transmission infrastructure.
Maritime safety requirements before construction
Despite receiving the Ministry’s prior administrative approval, construction authorization and the effective start of work in the water remain conditional on compliance with strict safety and navigation procedures. The developer may not begin the physical installation of the prototype or its cabling until it has obtained and incorporated two mandatory assessments: a favorable report from Puertos del Estado on maritime signage and marking, and an opinion from the Directorate-General of the Merchant Marine regarding navigation safety in the area.
The article Government gives green light to 2-BEnergy offshore turbine in Las Palmas was first published on canarymaritime.com.
