Electricity production has started at Hywind Tampen, Norway’s first floating wind farm, a project by NorthWind partner organisation Equinor.
So far, only one of the wind farms 11 turbines has started production. Six more will join it during the coming weeks. The remaining four have been assembled this autumn and will be installed onsite next year.
Even with just seven turbines in production, Hywind Tampen will be the largest floating wind farm in the world, with a capacity of 60 MW.
Hywind Tampen’s role is to provide energy to the Gullfaks and Snorre fields. The wind farm is expected to meet about 35 percent of the fields’ electricity demand, which represents CO2 emissions of about 200 000 tonnes per year.
– Just a few years ago, no one would have believed that offshore platforms could be powered by electricity from floating wind turbines and now, we have started, says Equinor’s executive vice president for Exploration and Production in Norway, Kjetil Hove.
When completed, Hywind Tampen will have a capacity of 88 MW. It is located about 140 km offshore, at water depths of between 260 and 300 metres.
