BUCHAN Offshore Wind has achieved Basic Design Certification from DNV for its BW Ideol designed concrete Damping Pool floating support structure.
The move is said to mark a major technical milestone in the development of the near 1GW floating offshore wind project.
The certification was formally awarded by Sille Grjotheim, director for floating offshore wind, DNV at the Floating Offshore Wind Conference in Aberdeen. Presented to project director Clare Lavelle, the award recognises the progress made in developing and validating Buchan’s foundation design as the project advances towards commercial-scale delivery.
Clare Lavelle said, “Achieving DNV Basic Design Certification is a significant milestone for the Buchan project, reflecting the expertise, commitment and hard work of the team and is an important step towards the industrialisation of floating offshore wind in Scotland. The opportunity for floating wind is no longer about proving the technology. It is about moving to commercial-scale deployment, establishing serial production and building the supply chains and infrastructure needed to create a competitive new industry. Buchan has an important pathfinder role to play in making that transition and helping establish Scotland’s capability to manufacture concrete floating foundations at scale.
“We have an ambitious but deliverable timetable giving government, investors and the supply chain a clear line of sight to construction by the end of this decade and delivery by the middle of the next. With the potential to support around 2,900 Scottish jobs during construction and deliver more than £2 billion in lifetime economic value, Buchan can help translate the UK’s floating wind ambition into long-term industrial and economic opportunity. This certification provides further confidence in our pathway to delivery and takes us another step closer to realising that opportunity.”
The Damping Pool has already been deployed and operated in several floating wind projects internationally, and its standard 15MW+ platform received Basic Design Certification from DNV in May 2025.
Buchan’s certified Damping Pool design has been developed specifically for the project’s harsh North Sea site.
Buchan Offshore Wind is being developed around 75km north east of Fraserburgh. Project partner BW Ideol has an exclusivity agreement in place with the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility for the manufacture of concrete floating foundations and is working on establishing a new serial production facility at the former oil and gas fabrication yard on the Moray Firth.
