Power production from the first turbine in the floating wind farm Hywind Tampen in the North Sea started on 13 November, Equinor announced. The power was delivered to the Gullfaks A platform in the North Sea.
“I am proud that we have now started production at Hywind Tampen, Norway’s first and the world’s largest floating wind farm. This is a unique project, the first wind farm in the world powering producing oil and gas installations,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s executive vice president for projects, drilling, and procurement.
Owned by the Gullfaks and Snorre partners, the Hywind Tampen wind farm is expected to meet about 35% of the electricity demand of the two fields. This will cut CO2 emissions from the fields by about 200,000 tonnes per year.
“The Norwegian content of the project is about 60%,” Tungesvik said. “This shows that we, together with our partners and suppliers, are building a new industry on the shoulders of the oil and gas business utilizing the competencies we together have acquired over many decades.”
Seven of eleven turbines are scheduled to come on stream during the year. The last four turbines have been assembled this autumn and will be installed on the field during a weather window next year. Even with just seven turbines on stream, Hywind Tampen will be the world’s largest floating wind farm with a capacity of 60 MW.
With its wind resources, the North Sea is expected to continue to play a key role also in the energy transition and for the energy security of Europe and Norway. Hywind Tampen represents a first step toward developing a new industry within offshore wind in Norway, Tungesvik said, contributing to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy supplies.
“Hywind Tampen cuts emissions from the oil and gas industry and increases the gas export to Europe. This is an important contribution towards transforming the Norwegian continental shelf from an oil and gas province to a broad energy province,” said Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s executive vice president for exploration and production Norway. “Just a few years ago, no one would have believed that offshore platforms could be powered by electricity from floating wind turbines. Well, now we have started."