The WindFloat is a floating foundation for a wind turbine, invented by Berkeley-based Marine Innovation and Technology and commercially developed by Principle Power Inc. The first of its kind was just installed in Agoucadoura, off the North coast of Portugal in October 2011. This prototype is equipped with a 2MW wind turbine which will be connected to the Portuguese electrical grid. 
    The design and fabrication of the first WindFloat took 2 years. Building a prototype brings on particular technical and organizational challenges, which will be discussed at the presentation. Companies of very different core business - wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, Portuguese electrical distributor EDP, pressure vessel manufacturer ASM and Portuguese shipyard MPG - were brought together to build the WindFloat. Both design and fabrication phases were reviewed by ABS. 
    A prototype is a bit of a research project - and as such is packed with instrumentation. In the next two  years, WindFloat I will be closely monitored. In the meantime, people are already thinking about the next phase and how to best mass produce WindFloats...