Other Deepwater and Hybrid Substructures

Other Deepwater and Hybrid Substructures

This section highlights a number of new technologies from Scottish and UK companies aimed at deep water wind

A new generation of fixed and hybrid substructures aimed at deep water and competing directly with floating wind substructures have emerged in recent years. A number of these have come from UK based companies but many are of international origin.

The inclusion of the Other Deepwater Offshore Wind (ODOW) category in the UK's Contract for Difference scheme from AR8 has injected new impetus for developers to consider such designs for their substructure shortlists.

The list below covers both the UK designs and some of the better known international contenders.

One issue that most of the newcomers currently face is an upper limit to installation water depth as there are currently no Offshore Wind Installation Vessels (OWIV) capable of turbine installation in water depth beyond 70m.
In March 2025 Van Oord took delivery of their Boreas OWIV which could install in water depth up to 70m. A new generation of such vessels will be required to keep up with this new wave of innovation in substructures

OSI Renewables

Scottish company, OSI Renewables have utilised the expertise from parent company, OSI, which has delivered multiple Tension Leg Platform (TLP) systems for the oil and gas sector, to produce a new design for the offshore wind industry.
Their FLTP+™ design has been specifically engineered for the deepwater offshore wind market for turbines up to 20MW in water depths up to 150m. The company currently have fabrication facilities at their Heartland base but may require quayside access for final assembly.
OSI Renewables are working on the design of a serial manufacturing facility and are in discussions with suitable port operators.

Image: OSI Renewables

OSI Renewables

Simulated image of a Pelaflex substructure with an offshore wind turbine installed at sea

Pelaflex - Marine Power Systems

Swansea based company, Marine Power Systems, have designed their PelaFlex substructure, a lightweight steel, tethered lattice tower system for deep water offshore wind.
This is a bottom fixed technology which can deliver offshore wind in water depths great than is possible with monopile or jacket substructures thus competing with floating wind substructures for water depths beyond 70m.
The company also aim to compete with these standard fixed wind substructure technologies in the transitional water depth 50-70m range as their system is lighter and easier to install.

Image: Marine Power Systems

Marine Power Systems

Articulated Wind Column - AWC Tech

England based company, AWC Tech, in partnership with French company Doris Engineering has produced a design for a concrete hybrid substructure for use in water depths from 90-200m. They have used a technology utilised in oil and gas to base their design for a hybrid deepwater wind substructure on. Their systems features a tapered central column attached to a gravity base which can be floated to the installation site and then upended by filling the base with ballast.
This simplifies the installation of the substructure as it eliminates the need for a heavy lift vessel thus lowering costs. With minimal seabed preparation, no piling or mooring and a very small footprint it also offers minimal impact on other marine users.
The companies say that their concrete construction means that the AWC substructures can be manufactured utilising the type of local civil engineering companies found in most countries and are not reliant on imported components.

Image: AWC Tech

AWC Tech

FRP Monopile - Entrion Wind

Houston based company, Entrion Wind, have a hybrid design based on a monopile configuration but with tethered mooring lines. This allows them to extend the envelope for their monopile design from 60-120m water depth.
Due to the tether system their monopile substructure weighs far less than a standard monopile that would be capable of being installed at that water depth. The FRP Monopile has a smaller diameter and is shorter than a comparable standard monopile.
The company has validated the installation procedure with their partners up to 15MW turbines but their overall design is validated up to 22MW machines.
The company has created a UK subsidiary, Entrion Wind UK, and opened a new office in Aberdeen in June 2026.

Image: Entrion Wind

Entrion Wind

BC90™ - Neretek

The Neretek design is another tethered monoplie system and the company are looking at water depths in the 60-90m range for their BC90™ substructure. The seabed footing will be pre-installed, ballast compartments will allow a wet tow and then upending. A pin system will connect it to the seabed installation.
This depth range would cover many of the projects in the ScotWind and Celtic Sea leasing rounds.
Neretek Limited is a joint venture partnership between Wood Thilsted Innovation Limited and COP Frontier A/S.

Image: Neretek

Neretek

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