Published at Tuesday, April 15, 2025 10:38 AM on the X1 Wind organization's page
X1 Wind’s X30 floating wind prototype delivers first kWh
X1 Wind has announced today (MARCH 07) that its X30 floating wind prototype, installed in the Canary Islands, successfully produced its first kWh.
The milestone marks the world’s only floating wind platform currently installed with a TLP mooring system, which dramatically reduces the environmental footprint and improves compatibility with other sea uses. It further heralds Spain’s first floating wind prototype to export electricity via a subsea cable.
‘First power’ was fed into PLOCAN’s offshore platform smartgrid via a 1.4km underwater cable. Local teams will now enter the last phase of a rigorous test and verification programme which started with the platform installation in November 2022, in preparation of technology scale-up and certification for commercial scale projects currently under development.
X1 Wind CTO and Co-founder Carlos Casanovas said:
“First power represents a huge milestone for X1 Wind, and the ‘lift-off’ moment we’ve been building towards for many years. The first kWh is always a symbolic moment for any new energy generation project, and for our team, partners and supporters, it crystalises the immense journey we’ve been on and the exciting path which lies ahead. Floating wind is set to play a vital role supporting the future energy transition, global decarbonisation and ambitious net-zero targets. Today’s announcement marks another significant stride forward for X1 Wind accelerating towards certification and commercial scale ambitions to deliver 15MW platforms and beyond in deepwater sites around the globe.”
The novel X30 platform is equipped with a specially adapted V29 Vestas turbine and ABB power converter (read more). Another key design feature, developed through the EU-backed PivotBuoy Project, combines advantages of SPM and TLP mooring systems. The proprietary SPM design enables the floater to ‘weathervane’ passively and maximise energy yields, with an electrical swivel ensuring electricity transfer without cable twisting. The TLP mooring system also dramatically reduces the seabed footprint, compared to traditional designs proposing catenary mooring lines, minimizing environmental impact while maximizing compatibility with other sea uses, in addition to its suitability to move into deeper waters (read more).