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Released November 10, 2015 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Funding has been secured to construct the world's first floating windfarm, off the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The Hywind Scotland Pilot Park will go ahead, following an announcement by developer, Norway's Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavangar, Norway), that it will go through with the $231 million project. The money will fund the construction of the 30-megawatt (MW) windfarm on floating structures at Buchan Deep, 25-kilometers (km) offshore of Peterhead. It will power about 20,000 households when it is commissioned in late 2017.
The pilot park will cover about 4 square kilometers, at a water depth of 95-120 meters--more than double the water depth that traditional offshore windfarms can be located in. The average wind speed in this area of the North Sea is about 10 meters per second, according to Statoil. Supporters, which include the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), believe that floating windfarms represent the future of offshore wind. The Hywind floating turbine has been successfully demonstrated off the coast of Norway since 2009.
"Statoil is proud to develop the world's first floating windfarm," said Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil's executive vice president for New Energy Solutions. "Our objective with the Hywind pilot park is to demonstrate the feasibility of future commercial, utility-scale floating windfarms. This will further increase the global market potential for offshore wind energy, contributing to realising our ambition of profitable growth in renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions. Through industry and supportive policies, the U.K. and Scotland is taking a position at the forefront of developing offshore wind as a competitive new energy source."
Scotland Deputy First Minister John Swinney welcomed the decision, saying: "The momentum is building around the potential for floating offshore wind technology to unlock deeper water sites. The ability to leverage existing infrastructure and supply chain capabilities from the offshore oil and gas industry create the ideal conditions to position Scotland as a world leader in floating wind technology".
Statoil's decision comes at a time when the company is facing financial constraints. Last month, the company delayed key North Sea oil and gas projects, including the largest oil and gas project in the U.K. North Sea, the $7 billion Mariner oilfield, as well as the Arctic Aasta Hansteen gas field in the Norwegian Sea. For additional information, see October 30, 2015, article - Statoil Delays North Sea Mariner Oilfield.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
The Hywind Scotland Pilot Park will go ahead, following an announcement by developer, Norway's Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavangar, Norway), that it will go through with the $231 million project. The money will fund the construction of the 30-megawatt (MW) windfarm on floating structures at Buchan Deep, 25-kilometers (km) offshore of Peterhead. It will power about 20,000 households when it is commissioned in late 2017.
The pilot park will cover about 4 square kilometers, at a water depth of 95-120 meters--more than double the water depth that traditional offshore windfarms can be located in. The average wind speed in this area of the North Sea is about 10 meters per second, according to Statoil. Supporters, which include the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), believe that floating windfarms represent the future of offshore wind. The Hywind floating turbine has been successfully demonstrated off the coast of Norway since 2009.
"Statoil is proud to develop the world's first floating windfarm," said Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil's executive vice president for New Energy Solutions. "Our objective with the Hywind pilot park is to demonstrate the feasibility of future commercial, utility-scale floating windfarms. This will further increase the global market potential for offshore wind energy, contributing to realising our ambition of profitable growth in renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions. Through industry and supportive policies, the U.K. and Scotland is taking a position at the forefront of developing offshore wind as a competitive new energy source."
Scotland Deputy First Minister John Swinney welcomed the decision, saying: "The momentum is building around the potential for floating offshore wind technology to unlock deeper water sites. The ability to leverage existing infrastructure and supply chain capabilities from the offshore oil and gas industry create the ideal conditions to position Scotland as a world leader in floating wind technology".
Statoil's decision comes at a time when the company is facing financial constraints. Last month, the company delayed key North Sea oil and gas projects, including the largest oil and gas project in the U.K. North Sea, the $7 billion Mariner oilfield, as well as the Arctic Aasta Hansteen gas field in the Norwegian Sea. For additional information, see October 30, 2015, article - Statoil Delays North Sea Mariner Oilfield.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
