Blue H Technologies BV is an innovative wind energy developer who is committed to building deepwater offshore wind farms. The company has just submitted a Nomination For Lease with the US Minerals Management Service to instal the first floating deepwater wind energy unit in the United States.

The proposal by Blue H is to build a 420MW commercial wind farm that will be located 45 miles off the New England coast. It would be invisible from the shore and would solve the problems facing many of the onshore wind developments. Complaints such as the aesthetics, the noise and the effects on migratory paths of birds and animals would be mitigated by this solution.

The wind turbines for the project would be built onshore and then floated out to their final positions. They would sit on floating platforms much like oil platforms and the platforms would be stabilized to ensure the operational consistency in all sorts of conditions.

Blue H Technologies launched a prototype Submerged Deepwater Platform (SDP) off the coast of Italy in December 2007, a world first, and the success of that operation has indicated that a large scale commercial project is feasible.

The Blue H project could also prove to be a major boon for the Fall River and New Bedford manufacturers with either or both locations being slated as candidates for constructing the 8,000 parts that go into each wind turbine assembly. Given that the assembly of each turbine has to happen locally, it will mean a big injection into the local workforce.

The SDP technology has given Blue H a solution to the problem of cost when it comes to installing platform foundations at depths of greater than 50 metres. Other projects have been hamstrung by the crippling costs that come with deepwater construction. This technology also has other notable benefits such as allowing the project to be sited further offshore, assembly can take place onshore and the weight of the structure is reduced. See the Blue H website for a more comprehensive overview.

The first commercial unit for an offshore wind farm prototype is currently being constructed by Blue H Skysaver Srl off the coast of Puglia in Southern Italy. They have applied for the required authorizations to build a 90 MW Wind Energy Park in the same area, 20 kilometres from the coast.