By Scott McCulloch
The Scottish Government has granted a marine licence for a five turbine
floating offshore wind farm development.
The Hywind pilot scheme, which will be delivered by Norwegian energy giant
Statoil, will see turbines anchored to the seabed by a three-point mooring
system near Buchan Deep, roughly 18 miles off the coast of Peterhead.
Statoil said the 30 megawatt (MW) pilot scheme, which would produce enough
electricity to power up to 19,900 homes, follows on from the success of a
demonstration project off the coast of Norway.
It hopes the pilot scheme, which it expects to begin building in 2017, will
demonstrate anchoring as a viable alternative to the more expensive fixed
mooring of turbines, and will also allow for wind farm development in
deeper waters.
The Carbon Trust believes floating wind farms could reduce overall
generating costs of wind energy to below £100 per megawatt hour.
Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil’s executive vice president for New Energy
Solutions, said: Statoil’s objective with developing this pilot park is to
demonstrate a commercial, utility-scale floating wind solution, to further
increase the global market potential.
“We are proud to develop this unique project in Scotland, in a region that
has optimal wind conditions, a strong supply chain within oil and gas and
supportive public policies.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Hywind is a hugely exciting
project – in terms of electricity generation and technology innovation –
and it’s a real testament to our energy sector expertise and skilled
workforce that Statoil chose Scotland for the world’s largest floating wind
farm.
“The momentum is building around the potential for floating offshore wind
technology to unlock deeper water sites.
“The ability to leverage existing infrastructure and supply chain
capabilities from the offshore oil and gas industry create the ideal
conditions to position Scotland as a world leader in floating wind technology.”
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