Principle Power lands deal to build floating turbines, raises $20M

Wind energy developer Principle Power just signed a deal with Energias de Portugal (EDP) to build a floating wind energy project off the coast of Portugal, and it’s looking to raise $20 million in first-round capital to help fund it. The Seattle-based company says it’s already in talks with several private and strategic investors along these lines.

EDP has been named an equity partner in the project (a price tag has yet to be estimated), which will be implemented in three phases, according to VentureWire. The first step will be to build one wind turbine on the deepwater platform constructed by Power Principle. To do so, it’s already entered into negotiations with two undisclosed turbine vendors. Over the course of the subsequent year and a half, it will work with EDP to gather meteorological and performance data from the off-shore site. And, if all goes well, the floating platform will be developed into a large-scale wind facility. Principle’s patented “WindFloat” platform — which is said to buffer the motion of waves — could be widely adopted for wind farms in blustery deep-sea regions out of the way of people.

In addition to its partnership with EDP, Principle is working with Tillamook People’s Utility District to create a 150 MW floating wind far off the coast of Oregon. It has already raised $2.3 million in seed funding from private investors.