Equinor is planning to invest NOK 5 billion ($551 million) in an 88-megawatt capacity offshore wind farm development in Norway, known as Hywind Tampen.
The firm is backing the construction of oil and gas platforms, which will be the first ever powered by a floating offshore wind farm.
Hywind Tampen will be located some 140 kilometers (87 miles) offshore in around 300 meters (984 feet) of water.
The wind farm will consist of 11 wind turbines based on the Hywind technology developed by Equinor. The 8-megawatt turbines will have a total capacity of 88 megawatts, capable of meeting about 35 percent of the annual power demand of the five platforms.
Equinor has been systematically maturing technologies for floating offshore wind for almost 20 years.
“About 80 percent 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,” said Eldar Saetre, CEO of Equinor. “This brings substantial opportunities for Norwegian industry.”
The project was designed to reduce the use of gas turbines on the fields and cut emissions by more than 200,000 tons per year, equivalent to the emissions from 100,000 cars.
“We are driving a transition aimed to sustain and add value on the Norwegian continental shelf, while reducing the carbon footprint from our operations,” said Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for development and production in Norway at Equinor.
Norwegian authorities have committed up to NOK 2.3 billion ($253 million) for the project and Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment’s NOx fund, designed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, is pledging NOK 566 million ($62 million).
Hywind Tampen is scheduled to come on stream in late 2022.
