GICON Presentation on Offshore Wind Power Technology to Delegation from Japan

GICON introduces Floating Offshore Foundation

On December 12^th, 2011 GICON had the opportunity to introduce the GICON FOF (Floating Offshore Foundation) to 45 industry representatives from Japan. The GICON FOF provides a feasible option for offshore wind power generation in deep water.

During a one week fact finding tour the Japanese visitors wanted to learn about the status of German wind power technology including for offshore wind and to explore areas for co-operation. The delegation visit was part of the Renewable Energy Export Promotion Program by Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and arranged by the Tokyo Office of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Tokyo).

Due to the Fukushima nuclear accident Japan plans to expand renewable energy generation capacities including wind power. So far Japan does not have any offshore wind farms (except three near-shore installations) because the 100 to 200 meter + water depths off Japan's coast require specific foundation technology. The delegation was therefore particularly interested in floating foundation solutions for offshore wind power. GICON provided information on the principal application options of the Tension Leg Platform based GICON FOF. This technology is also suitable for the conditions found in Japan, including extreme conditions such as rogue and seismic waves. The numerous questions from the Japanese visitors as well as the conversations during the networking session showed their high level of interest in GICON's FOF.