By Isabella Kaminski

Wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa has has signed a framework technology cooperation agreement with the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), seeking to reserve space for its wind turbines at the Zèfir offshore test station off the coast of Tarragona in Spain.

The company is hoping to initially install two anchored wind turbines followed by two floating systems. Gamesa is currently developing two families of offshore wind turbines (the G11X-5.0 MW and the G14X, with unit capacity of 6-7 MW) based on its previous technology.

José Antonio Malumbres, Gamesa's Chief Technology Officer, says: “This agreement represents further technological progress in our offshore strategy and provides a new opportunity for testing and validating the prototypes Gamesa has been developing in recent months.”

The Zèfir project is an experimental offshore wind energy lab devoted to testing offshore wind turbines and related infrastructure in a deep-water environment.

It will consist of a total of 12 turbine spaces, developed in two stages. The first will involve the installation of a maximum of four wind turbines anchored to the seabed approximately 3.5 km off the coast, with a combined installed capacity of up to 20 MW.

The second phase calls for a maximum of 8 floating wind turbines, installed about 30 km off the coast, with a combined installed capacity of up to 50 MW.