A final investment decision (FID) for the Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm in Norway has been made by Equinor and the Snorre and Gullfaks partners.
The wind farm will be positioned approximately 140 kilometres from shore in 260-300 metres of water between the Snorre and Gullfaks platforms. The platforms will be the first-ever powered by a floating offshore windfarm.
Chief Executive Officer of Equinor, Eldar Sætre, said the decision by the Snorre and Gullfaks partners helps bring this technology an important step forward.
“About 80 per cent 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.”
The Hywind Tampen investments will total almost NOK 5 billion. Norwegian authorities through Enova have made a funding commitment of up to NOK 2.3 billion for the project. Additionally, the Business Sector’s NOx Fund has decided to support the project by up to NOK 566 million.
The wind farm will consist of 11 wind turbines based on the Hywind technology developed by Equinor. The 8 Megawatt (MW) turbines will have a total capacity of 88 MW – capable of meeting about 35 per cent of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B and C platforms.
By reducing the use of gas turbines on the fields the project will help to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes per year, which is equivalent to the annual emissions from 100,000 passenger cars.
Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Development and Production Norway, Arne Sigve Nylund said that the authorities’ consent to extending the productive life of the Gullfaks field to 2036 and the Snorre field to 2040 (up to 20 years longer than when the fields were initially planned) was essential to realising the Hywind Tampen project.
According to a study by Multiconsult, the Hywind Tampen project will generate 1550 to 3000 man-years through the field’s productive life in spin-offs for Norwegian industry. Most of the spin-offs will be generated in the project’s development phase.
Hywind Tampen is scheduled to come on stream in late 2022 and will be operated from Equinor’s Bergen office.
Gulen Industrihamn in western Norway has been selected for the assembly of the floating wind turbines for Hywind Tampen before being transported to the field in the North Sea.
