MODEC, Inc. (“MODEC”) and Toyo Construction Co., Ltd. (“Toyo Construction”) have jointly obtained approval in principle (“AiP”) from NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI (“ClassNK^*1”) for “floating structure & tether system and tether pile foundation for TLP type^*2 floating offshore wind turbine”.

The acquisition of AiP was one of the tasks of the NEDO’s^*3 Green Innovation Fund Phase 1 project, which was carried out by MODEC, Toyo Construction, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and JERA Co., Ltd.

The AiP has been obtained based on the drawings and related documents of the floating structure & tether system provided by MODEC and those of the tether pile foundation provided by Toyo Construction.

In 2020, MODEC obtained AiP for the floating offshore wind turbines from DNV^*4. This time, for the demonstration project in Japan, both companies have obtained another AiP from ClassNK with the aim of preempting some of the evaluation items for Wind Farm Certification and Classification Surveys that will be required during the demonstration project. In acquiring this AiP, both companies also conducted a study on Japan's unique environmental conditions, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and received valuable opinions from ClassNK, including the opinions of experts, which will be reflected in the design and the development during the expected demonstration project.

MODEC has been providing competitive floating solutions for the offshore oil and gas industry and recognized as a leading specialist for floating oil and gas production systems such as Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and TLPs. As for TLPs, MODEC has the world's best track record of construction, and its experience and technology enable the compact TLP with the large-capacity wind turbine to be realized, and high social acceptability and economic efficiency as well. Toward the early realization for floating offshore wind turbine equipment by using next-generation TLP, MODEC will continue to work on it.

• *1ClassNK ： an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
• *2 TLP systems are expected to reduce the cost of power generation because the high stability of tension mooring to a seafloor foundation enables installation of large 15 MW-class wind turbines, which have the potential to become mainstream in the future, on compact floating platforms. In addition, TLP’s mooring lines are expected to be more socially acceptable than other mooring systems because they can reduce the amount of space occupied under the sea by approximately 1/1,000 (for example, in 100m water depth) and have less impact on existing businesses such as the fishing industry and ship operations.
• *3NEDO ： New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization which is Japanese national research and development agency.
• *4DNV ： an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Greater Oslo, Norway.