About the ZÈFIR project

Description

The ZÈFIR Test Station will be an international research facility used for the testing of offshore wind turbines in deep waters, to be located off the coast of Ametlla de Mar and constructed in two phases. The first will consist of the installation of a maximum of four wind turbines anchored to the seabed at a distance of 3.5 kilometres from the coast, with a total power output of no more than 20 MW, whilst the second will involve a maximum of eight floating wind turbines that will be installed around 30 kilometres from the coast, which together will provide a maximum power output of 50 MW.

Goals

• To progressively reduce the costs of building offshore wind farms and develop technologies so that they can be installed in deep waters.
• To conduct research into these applications.
• To increase the understanding of the science and technology behind wind energy by the industrial sector associated with the research centres involved.
• To create new opportunities for the businesses involved in the project.
• To establish a leading international centre able to attract investment from industries in the sector.
• To create an environment for promoting university training programmes that attract people into the world of R&D.
• To ensure that as a unique project in the world and an opportunity in high demand by industry, it turns Catalonia, and Tarragona in particular, into an international point of reference in the field of offshore wind energy.  
• To raise awareness of the fact that the project has been designed in the framework of an environmental impact study and that it is to be located in the Gulf of Sant Jordi, off the coast of L’Ametlla de Mar.  

The test station has been divided into two phases

The first phase is essential

The reputation of Spain’s wind energy industry around the world has been enhanced by the move to transfer onshore technologies to offshore environments.

The first phase of the ZÈFIR project will enable Spanish manufacturers to test their prototype offshore wind turbines, with the advantage of easy access as they will be located relatively close to the coast on water that is navigable all year round.