Norwegian energy company Equinor has confirmed Final Investment Decision on the 88 megawatt (MW) Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm development which, when completed, will supply power to oil and gas platforms in the Norwegian Sea.
Illustration of the Hywind Tampen project. Dimensions and distances are not realistic.
Photo courtesy of Equinor
Equinor and its partners in the Snorre and Gullfaks fields in the North Sea announced their final investment decision (FID) last week and submitted two updated plans for development and operation of their planned floating offshore wind farm to the Norwegian authorities. The Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas platforms will be the first ever to be powered by a floating offshore wind farm which will be located between the Snorre and Gulfaks platforms, approximately 140 kilometers from shore in waters 260 to 300 meters deep.
“We have been systematically maturing technologies for floating offshore wind for almost 20 years,” said Eldar Sætre, chief executive officer of Equinor. “The decision by the Snorre and Gullfaks partners helps bring this technology an important step forward. About 80 % of the global resource potential for offshore wind is in deep waters, and floating offshore wind may play an important part in the energy transition towards more sustainable global energy supply. This brings substantial opportunities for Norwegian industry.”
Chief executive Eldar Sætre (left) and Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development & Production Norway.
Photo courtesy of Ole Jørgen Bratland, via Equinor
Investments for the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm will amount to almost NOK 5 billion (US$0.55 billion) and will be supported by an investment of NOK 2.3 billion from the Norwegian authorities through Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise responsible for the promotion of environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy.
The Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm will consist of 11 wind turbines with capacity of 8 MW each, totaling 88 MW for the project upon completion, enough to meet 35% of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B, and C platforms.
“The pioneering Hywind Tampen project will help cut emissions from Gullfaks and Snorre,” said Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice president for Development & Production Norway. “We are driving a transition aimed to sustain and add value on the Norwegian continental shelf, while reducing the carbon footprint from our operations.”
Scheduled to come online in late 2022, Hywind Tampen will help reduce the use of gas turbines on the fields which will cut CO2 emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking 100,000 passenger vehicles off the roads.
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