Norway’s massive floating wind turbine wall will be funded by the government this year

Wind Catching Systems, a Norwegian company, is nearing the completion of a massive floating wall of wind turbines that measures over half the length of the Eiffel Tower. Instead of one large turbine with blades of maximum length, the WCS project appears to be a solid wall of 150 wind turbines with rotors up to 30 meters in diameter each.

The first tranche from ENOVA, a Norwegian state corporation, was received by the Wind Catching Systems project in October 2022. This week, the second tranche was allocated “for pre-project work” in the amount of 9.3 million crowns ($900 thousand). A multi-turbine floating power facility will be operational before the end of this year at the Mehuken wind farm off the coast of Norway.

The seriousness of Wind Catching Systems’ intentions is reflected in the fact that substantial funds have invested in this young business: GM Ventures, Norway’s largest private investment firm Ferd, and North Energy ASA, a Norwegian energy investment firm with public capital.

The above-water height of the beam structure of the Wind Catching Systems floating wind farm will reach 320 m. The cost of assembling and maintaining a sectional facility will be lower than the cost of maintaining a single massive wind tower. The disposal of the object will be simpler and easier than those of modern windmills, which must be completely buried beneath the ground.

by Elizabeth Pascka Latim