Bechtel Partners with Hexicon on UK Floater

Bechtel is partnering with Hexicon to demonstrate technology at an up to 40MW floating offshore wind farm off the coast of the UK.

The initial partnership will draw on Bechtel's engineering, construction and project financing expertise to develop the design and 'constructability' of the offshore wind facility.

The team will also establish how the technology could be brought to market and explore the roles that local suppliers could play in shipbuilding, mooring and installations, as well as the long-term serving needs of floating offshore wind.

Positive results from this demonstration project will further bolster the UK as a world leader in offshore wind generation and support the government's path to generate 40GW of offshore wind power by 2030, Bechtel said.

Hexicon chief executive Marcus Thor said: “Our technology is one of a handful of solutions that can support deep water offshore wind projects, which will massively increase the potential for offshore wind power generation.

“The UK has shown great initiative in this industry and we are delighted to have world-leading construction and engineering company Bechtel to help us deploy our innovative twin turbine floating foundation in British waters.

“This will be good for the UK and beyond, as the world's demand for clean energy solutions continues to grow exponentially.”

Bechtel business development manager George Whittaker said: “We are delighted to be supporting Hexicon to bring their important technology to the market.

“As a company that has a long history solving complex engineering problems, including in the offshore industries, we are confident that this technology is possible and could be a real game-changer for the renewables market.”