Power has now been delivered to the Gullfaks A platform in the North Sea from the first of 11 wind turbines.
Hywind Tampen, Norway’s first floating wind farm and so far the biggest in the world, is predicted to be able to meet about a third of the electricity needs of oil and gas operations owned by Gullfaks Snorre.
As well as being the largest, it is also the first floating farm to power oil and gas operations.
Equinor says that when fully operational, the 11 turbines will generate 88MW, which is half of the current total of floating wind generation in the world.
”This is an important contribution towards transforming the Norwegian continental shelf from an oil and gas province to a broad energy province,” said Kjetil Hove, executive vice-president for Exploration and Production Norway with Equinor. ”Just a few years ago, no one would have believed that offshore platforms could be powered by electricity from floating wind turbines. Well, now we have started.”
The €272 million project has been funded by financial services multinational Enova (€218 million) and the Norwegian government’s Business Sector’s NoX Fund (54 million).
Hywind Tampen is 140km from shore in water depths of between 260 and 300 metres. Seven turbines should come online in the next few months, with the remaining four to be installed next year.
Earlier this month, Equinor said it was considering the Celtic Sea off Wales for floating wind as the Crown Estate will in 2023 launch another seabed leasing round around the British Isles.
