Hywind project enters next phase
The UK’s Crown Estate has granted a lease agreement for Statoil to develop the Hywind project, located at a site in Buchan Deep, around 30km off the coast of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
The Crown Estate says the project, which is set to be the largest floating wind project announced to date in Europe and one of the largest announced worldwide, will further enhance the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind technology development.
“Investing in new technologies will be crucial to unlocking offshore wind potential over the long term whilst we continue to focus on the current development pipeline,” said Huub den Rooijen, head of offshore wind, Crown Estate.
“Scotland has a huge offshore resource but to maximise this opportunity we need to move into deeper water. The lease agreement awarded to Statoil’s Hywind project offers the first step towards harnessing this resource,” added John Swinney, Scottish Government cabinet secretary for finance, employment and sustainable growth.
It will comprise of five 6MW floating turbines operating in waters exceeding 100m in depth.
The Crown Estate says it will demonstrate how floating technology can allow developers access new sites in deeper water, where installing conventional offshore wind turbines is not viable, and helping to substantially lower the cost of energy generated from offshore wind.
Related Articles
MARINE CONSTRUCTION
POWER & PROPULSION
ENVIRONMENT