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www.sname.org/sname/mt October 2012 TLP installation, where the hull is installed on the tendons and then the production mod- ule or superstructure is installed on the hull. Full-?eld wind plant development e cost eectiveness of the system is fully realized at full-field, utility scale wind plants. A one-o PelaStar demonstration project will not properly reflect this cost effectiveness as it uses serial production eciencies; for example, shipyard learning curve factors on the hull fabrication. e full-eld system also re-uses specic instal- lation tools, whether at the small scale of a suction embedment anchor device or at the large scale of the support barge. It is not practical to implement these full-eld installation eciencies in a dem- onstration project. As a consequence, single-unit project costs are greater than what the unit cost will be in a full-eld wind plant project. is is particularly noticeable in the demonstration project installation costs. For one or two projects, it will be more cost eective to use a submersible transport vessel to load the fully assembled PelaStar quayside, transit to the site, and discharge with a oat-o operation. A PelaStar demonstration project will focus on proving the core technology, informing system costs, and demonstrat- ing predicted turbine performance. Larger pilot projects and rst-generation commer- cial projects will prove out the cost-eective installation methods. e projected growth in demand for o- shore wind, coupled with the lower cost of energy from superior wind resources and technology advances, is pushing deep- water offshore wind to the forefront of climate and energy strategy. e PelaStar oating oshore wind turbine technology is overcoming both cost and technical issues associated with accessing deep-water wind resources. is technology has signicant technical and cost advantages. Innovative engineering applied to proven offshore technologies drives the cost of energy below competing technologies (xed and oating), and realizes an unsubsidized cost of energy that gets much closer to compet- ing with fossil fuels. Offshore floating wind technology development presents new challenges for the naval architect. A floating structure, unmanned and autonomous, requires the application of existing tools in new and dif- ferent ways to solve these new problems. We are solving these problems now by apply- ing innovative engineering and the systems approach the naval architect knows well. We are nding the low-cost, high-output solu- tions that will enable Europe and the U.S. to reach their renewable energy goals, and set a path for the rest of the world to follow. MTBill Hurley is chairman of the board at The Glosten Associates in Seattle, Washington, and directs the development and exploitation of the PelaStar ?oating oshore turbine foundation. PelaStar support vessel provides transit, installation, and maintenance capability in a low-cost work barge. e tendons, with their vertical orientation under the hull, present a compact footprint that is advantageous in full-eld plants.