Multi-functional platform for open sea farm installations

The aim of deploying multi-functional offshore platforms has become one of the EU’s most interesting and ambitious projects to guarantee the sustainable use of open sea resources. The combination of fish farming and offshore renewable energy production and the application of appropriate technical knowledge are key factors in achieving the sustainable exploitation of marine resources to support the growing global demand for seafood and clean energy. The Blue Growth Farm (BGF) project aims at promoting the expansion of marine aquaculture through the design of an efficient multi-functional offshore platform, which combines modern automated fish production with generation of renewable energy from wind, waves & solar. The integration of the different sub-systems into one complex infrastructure, the shared use of assets, and the combination of various offshore energy generation resources make BGF an efficient solution for both the offshore renewable energy and the marine fish farming industry. The project goal is to produce advanced industrial knowledge on a fully integrated and efficient offshore multipurpose floating platform, which provides a central protected pool to host automated aquaculture system, capable of producing up to 5.000 t/y high-quality fish, as well as a large storage and deck areas to host a wind turbine, a number of wave energy converters (WECs) and PV panels. The platform results from the suitable assembly of corrosion-resistance & low-maintenance concrete caissons modules, joined in floating conditions. Whilst various designs for offshore fish farming systems have been proposed over the years, so far none have had widespread uptake due to various concerns including their reliability to withstand harsh offshore conditions, unknown and unproven technology, the inherent difficulties in managing units to which access may be limited for long periods, security and, not the least, cost. All of these concerns have been taken into account in the design of the BGF infrastructure. In particular, relevant R&D challenges have been addressed with the specific strategy of designing and testing solutions of two distinct scaled prototypes: the first, smaller scale (1/40) for indoor (wave tank) experiments and the second, intermediate scale (1/15) for outdoor trials (sea site), with the final target to train numerical models such to predict the entire full-scale structure behaviour in a more reliable way compared to the past. The BGF renewable energy systems comprise a 10MW wind turbine on the forward deck of the platform, an array of wave energy converters (WECs) devices, based on floating version of REWEC3 patented solution, which form an integral part of the structure of the forward caissons, and PV panels placed on top of the aft side building. In particular, solar energy supplies containerised photobioreactors for microalgae production. The energy produced powers the on-board equipment, whilst the excess furnishes hybrid propulsion service boats batteries with the electric recharge capacity and then finally reaches the local grid via umbilical cable. All systems on the platform are linked to a central control room capacity, which on turn is copied to the onshore remote-control room, allowing the system to be operated and monitored by land when sea conditions are not suitable to access the platform.