Offshore wind engineering company Wood Thilsted and COP Frontier, a sister company of Copenhagen Offshore Partners, have launched Neretek, a new venture focused on offshore wind foundations for water depths of 60 to 90 metres. The company was announced in London on 7 July, with industry veteran and former Global Wind Energy Council chair Jonathan Cole appointed as executive chair.
Neretek’s BC90 foundation is designed to bring the simplicity of monopiles to transitional water depths that are currently too deep for economic fixed-bottom foundations but not yet served by commercial-scale floating wind. According to the companies, the design can be manufactured from existing supply chain capabilities, uses existing port infrastructure and does not rely on large specialist installation vessels.
The launch followed the UK government’s announcement of Allocation Round 8 on 6 July, which set out plans to develop offshore wind in the 60–90 metre depth range — a category the government refers to as Other Deepwater Offshore Wind (ODOW). A substantial share of the UK’s strongest wind resources lies beyond the reach of conventional fixed foundations.
“Neretek’s new BC90 technology is capable of removing the potential hiatus between existing fixed offshore wind designs and yet-to-be-commercialised floating offshore wind,” said Cole. Wood Thilsted founder and CEO Alastair Muir Wood said the design follows a decade of research and offers “a cost-effective, deployable solution to exploiting the stronger winds in deeper waters”.
The company says the technology is positioned for markets in Europe and Southeast Asia where seabed conditions push projects into deeper waters. UK energy minister Michael Shanks welcomed the launch, pointing to the role of deepwater technologies in the next phase of the country’s offshore wind expansion.
