Norway Approves First Floating Windfarm to Power Oil Rigs

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The first and largest floating offshore windfarm designed to power oil rigs has been given the green light by Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Industry.

The Hywind Tampen windfarm will consist of 11 wind turbines from Siemens rated at 8 megawatts (MW) each. The 88-MW windfarm will be capable of meeting about 35% of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B and C platforms. Costing approximately $480 million, the windfarm will be located around 140 kilometres (km) from shore, between the Snorre and Gullfaks platforms, at a water depth of 260 to 300 metres. It is being developed by Norway's leading oil and gas major Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) and some of its oil field partners, with commissioning expected in 2022. It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from the fields by approximately 200,000 tonnes annually--equivalent to the annual emissions of around 100,000 cars.

"It is a historic day when we approve the development plan for the world's largest floating sea windfarm to be built here in Norway," said Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru. "This is a small step in the global green shift - but it is a big step for the Norwegian offshore wind industry and floating offshore wind. Hywind Tampen could be the start of a new adventure for Norwegian industry. The prototype of Hywind was tested in the sea off Rogaland. Now this will be an industrial scale project outside Western Norway."

Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor's executive vice president for Development & Production Norway, added: "Hywind Tampen is a pioneering project and a central contribution to reducing emissions from Gullfaks and Snorre, and I am pleased that both ESA and Norwegian authorities have approved the project. We are experiencing very challenging times, and we are focusing on continuing our transition effort while attending to and developing the value on the Norwegian continental shelf and at the same time reducing the climate footprint from our operations."

Equinor said that on the back of permission it has awarded contracts totalling $327 million. Industrial Info is tracking the main project along with two others involving the replacement of existing generators on the Snorre A and Gullfaks A topsides and the installation of new DC/AC transformer modules to accept electricity from the windfarm.

"It is a plus that the oil and gas industry is competitive in renewables projects as well, and the contracts will lead to considerable spinoff effects in Norway," commented Anders Opedal, executive vice president for Technology, Projects & Drilling. "As the whole industry is currently experiencing much uncertainty, it is vital that we progress projects that spur technology development in the renewables segment and create spinoff effects on the Norwegian supplier industry."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.