Business Green: Norwegian firm Statoil set to start construction of ‘world’s largest’ floating wind farm in the coming months after securing sea bed lease. Construction work is set to begin later this year on what will be the world’s largest floating wind farm, after the project was granted a seabed lease by the Crown Estate for an area off the coast of Scotland. Located off Scotland’s east coast at Buchan Deep around 25km from Peterhead, the planned Hywind project is to consist of five 6MW turbines which will, according to Norwegian developer Statoil, be deployed in deeper water than any previous offshore wind turbines around the coast of the UK. “We are very pleased to develop this project in Scotland, in a region with a huge wind resource and an experienced supply chain from oil and gas,” said Hywind Scotland project director, Leif Delp.
The project secured consent from Marine Scotland last October and has now been granted a seabed lease by the Crown Estate. The move means preliminary on-shore and near-shore works will commence later this year. Deployment of the turbine will then begin in 2017, with first power being generated towards the end of the year, the Crown Estate said. The announcement follows the news last year that Highland oil and gas equipment firm Isleburn has secured the contract to supply 15 suction anchors for the project.
Ronnie Quinn, general manager for the Crown Estate, which manages the lease of the seabed, said the organisation had been “working closely with Statoil, Scottish Government and other partners to help bring forward this innovative project, which helps consolidate the position of Scotland and the UK as a global leader in the offshore renewables sector”.
“Hywind is the first of its kind in the world,” he added. “Its successful operation will demonstrate the viability of floating wind turbines in deep water locations and bring forward cost reduction techniques that will move the whole sector forward. By working to share best practice and deploying our expertise in seabed leasing, we’ve been able to support the development of emerging technologies, from floating wind to tidal current energy, placing Scotland in a very strong position to secure global investment in low carbon energy.”
The UK government has previously signalled the development of a new wave of wind farms post-2020 is dependent on the industry bringing down the cost of power to below £100/MWh. Advocates of floating wind farms predict they can help reduce costs, by avoiding the need for fixed foundations and curbing operations and maintenance costs. Click here to read more
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