Floating Statoil wind farm planned

A five-turbine floating wind farm – believed to be Europe’s largest – is set to be built off the coast of Peterhead. The Hywind project will see the five turbines operate in waters several miles from land in a move towards creating an economically viable scheme.

It comes after the Crown Estate granted an agreement to Norwegian firm, Statoil.

Statoil senior vice president for renewable energy, Siri Espedal Kindem, said: “It represents a new step in the development towards a future floating commercial-scale park. Scotland has a huge offshore wind resource but to maximise this opportunity we need to move into deeper water. The lease agreement awarded to Statoil’s Hywind project offers the first step towards harnessing this resource.”

Developing commercially viable floating turbines could enable Scotland to utilise more offshore wind farms and help reduce some of the potential impacts associated with traditional seabed-based turbines.  Although it will bring its own challenges, floating turbines should overcome many technical challenges associated with anchoring fixed turbines in deep water.

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