Equinor is close to first power from Hywind Tampen, the world’s first floating wind farm to power offshore oil and gas platforms.
Preparations are also ongoing for the start-up of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6 gigawatt (GW) Dogger Bank scheme located off the UK coast.
At a press conference at the ONS conference in Stavanger, Equinor (OSLO: EQNR) gave a state of play update on its offshore wind portfolio.
Pal Eitrheim, executive vice president for renewables at the Oslo-listed company, said: “The North Sea will continue to play a key role for Europe’s energy transition and security towards 2050.
“The region is expanding from oil and gas production into a broad energy province utilising world-class offshore wind resources.
“The North Sea is uniquely positioned to help meet European objectives of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supplies.
“Renewable mega-projects like Dogger Bank and Hywind Tampen are nearing start-up, enabling Equinor to boost renewable energy to the European market.
“New projects such as Trollvind and Utsira Nord have the potential to deepen Norway’s lead in making floating offshore wind competitive and affordable.”
First floating wind farm to supply electricity to oil and gas operations
Once Hywind Tampen is completed, it will be the first floating wind farm to supply electricity to oil and gas operations, namely the Snorre and Gullfaks fields.
It will also become the world’s largest floating wind farm, leapfrogging the Kincardine project off the Aberdeenshire coast.
An important milestone was recently hit when the first subsea cables were laid and connection made to the Gullfaks A platform – power will also be
The seven first Hywind Tampen turbines will come on stream this year, according to plan, while the final four will be installed next spring.
First foundations for Dogger Bank, which Equinor is developing in partnership with SSE Renewables and Eni, were installed in July 2022.
First power is expected in the second half of 2023, with commercial operations beginning in 2024 for Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C, the final two phases of the mega project, will follow in 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Years of experience
Trine Borum Bojsen, senior vice president for North Sea renewables at Equinor, said: “The North Sea is a cornerstone for Equinor’s offshore wind business and will be a key hub for power generation for Europe for many years to come.
“With Dogger Bank and Hywind Tampen we are building on more than 15 years of wind farm experience and 50 years of experience operating in the harsh environments of the North Sea.
“Our first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Scotland, has for several years reached the highest average capacity factor for any wind farm in the UK, and with floating wind anticipated to play a key role in the offshore wind industry of the future, Equinor is uniquely placed with our learnings.”
Equinor and partners recently launched Trollvind, a 1GW floating offshore wind farm outside Bergen.
Power from the project, which has a potential start-up of 2027, will help to electrify further oil and gas installations.
