Speaking at the Windforce conference in Bremen, Markus Rieck managing director of Alstom Renewables Germany said that the turbine will be installed on its Pelastar floating platform, 27 kilometres from the coast, in three years time.
The project is being run by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), a government-funded consortium of companies including BP and Rolls-Royce.
The Pelastar floating foundation has been developed by US-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten Associates. The floating platform will be located off the coast of Cornwall in the south west of England.
The ETI's offshore renewable energy test facility, Wave Hub, has applied for consent to operate the demonstrator over a period of 10 years. Previously, the ETI had said it hoped to have the turbine up and running as early as 2015.
Reick said that the floating foundation would play a role in the drive to reduce offshore wind cost of energy by 30-40%.
The aim of the project is to accelerate the commercial application of floating foundations for turbines, which could open up new deep water areas for deployment. The platform is designed to remain stabilised in offshore conditions by vertical-load anchors embedded in the sea floor and tensioned mooring tendons.
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