88 megawatt capacity
Norway launches world’s largest floating offshore wind farm
08/23/2023 4:32 p.m
Scandinavia is repeatedly cited as a role model when it comes to renewable energy. Norway has now reconfirmed this role. In the North Sea, probably the largest floating offshore wind farm is officially launched. However, its purpose may not please everyone.
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon has officially launched the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm, according to the operator. For the symbolic opening of the facility called Hywind Tampen, the heir to the Norwegian throne connected two cables to each other on the Gullfaks C oil drilling platform. The plant will supply electricity to five oil and gas platforms in the North Sea in order to reduce their CO2 emissions. According to the oil and gas company Equinor, this will probably save 200,000 tons of CO2 annually.
“Today we are making history,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during the opening, according to the NTB news agency. The cost of the project is high, but someone has to lead the way with the technology. “By connecting these lines here, we are connecting to the future,” Haakon said.
Floating wind turbines are not firmly anchored to the seabed at sea. The turbines are instead mounted on floating concrete structures with a common anchoring system.
Hywind Tampen is the first of its kind in Norway. It consists of 11 floating turbines. The wind farm cost 7.4 billion crowns (640 million euros) and produced its first electricity in November 2022. With a planned total capacity of 88 megawatts, it is expected to cover approximately one-third of the electricity needs of the Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B and C oil and gas platforms.