Certification Scheme for Offshore Floating Wind Turbines

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) are promising Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) technologies. Considering the emerging stage of development of MRE technologies, no dedicated certification scheme has been developed so far by international organizations. Technical specifications are under development in the framework of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee (TC) 88 and IEC Renewable Energy (IECRE). Within IECRE, the Marine Energy Operational Management Committee (ME OMC) is in charge of the development of a conformity assessment system dedicated to Floating Wind Turbines. In this context, Bureau Veritas (BV) has issued a Guidance Note NI631 Certification Scheme for Marine Renewable Energy Technologies and also the NI572 for the Classification and Certification of FOWT to support technology developers and speed up commercial phases. The note NI631 describes the different schemes of MRE certification, whereas the NI572 details the technical requirements for FOWT. This paper will provide an overview of the certification schemes applicable to FOWT technologies, addressing prototype, component, type and project certification. Main objective, scope, intermediary steps to be completed and resulting certificates will be detailed for each certification scheme, as well as their interactions. A methodology relying on the qualification of new technology process will be detailed when no guidelines or standards are available for the most innovative parts of a FOWT, or when existing standards from related sectors, such as wind energy, shipping or offshore Oil&Gas, require adaptations to fit their requirements to the specific MRE conditions.