Portal:MERMAID/Atlantic Ocean

A meteorological mast located 5 km offshore, will assess wind conditions

There are two test sites proposed for the project: Ubiarco and Santoña. Both test sites are located in Spain, off-shore the region of Cantabria.

The Ubiarco test site is expected to be operational by the end of 2012. It will be able to manage three floating wind turbines and three wave energy concepts. They will be deployed reducing interaction and wake effects between them. Weather will be assessed thanks to a meteorological mast, which have been already deployed (June 2010) thanks to the R&D Company IDERMAR.

Santoña test site will be a small site devoted to wave energy devices and will also be connected to the grid. The electrical connection will be based on an onshore electrical substation, submerged power cables and a submerged pod all of them already available and ready for deployment.

Both sites will be fully monitored thanks to existing operational systems for wind, waves and currents. The floating platforms open up the opportunity of installing wind farms in deep waters because they do not need anchorage, something especially important in Spain, where the continental shelf is narrow.

Aquaculture experiences from other deep water sites will be used as a basis for analysing the potential at this site. The site is in particular challenged with very harsh wave conditions, which potential can be a large problem for aquaculture equipment.

Atlantic Site Factsheet
Geographical location	Atlantic Ocean, north of Spain
Surface area of study site	100 km²
Offshore distance	3 - 20 km
Depth	50 - 250 m
Substrate	mix of sandy and rocky seabed
Water temperature	10 - 20°C
Max. tidal currents	1.5 cm/s
Wave heights	Mostly < 6 m
Mean wave energy potential	20 kW/m on 50 m depth
Average wind speed	7.5 m/s