World’s Largest Floating Wind Farm To Be Installed In Scotland
The Scottish government gives the green light to the development of the world's largest floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea off the coast of Peterhead by the Norwegian-based leading multinational energy company Statoil.
According to The Guardian on Monday, five floating 6MW turbines will be part of a 30MW pilot park set to be built by Statoil. With the construction expected to commence in 2016, the U.K.'s pioneer floating wind farm project aims to provide energy to almost 20,000 homes.
"Floating wind represents a new, significant and increasingly competitive renewable energy source," says Statoil's executive vice president for new energy solutions, Irene Rummelhoff. "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," Rummelhoff adds.
BBC News noted on Monday that the project, known as Hywind Scotland, will be attached to the seabed using a three-point mooring spread and anchoring system.
The wind farm's turbines will provide electricity through an export cable from the 30MW pilot park to the shore in Aberdeenshire, which is only 25 kilometers away. Statoil aims to use the pilot park to showcase the technology on a commercial scale.
Currently, setting up wind turbines in deep water are difficult and costly to install.
The Carbon Trust recognizes the likelihood of the floating wind farm concept to decrease costs to less than £100 per megawatt-hour in commercial installments, with Hywind project producing an even lower cost of £85 to £95 per megawatt-hour.
"Hywind is a hugely exciting project in terms of electricity generation and technology innovation," says Deputy First Minister John Swinney, "and it's a real testament to our energy sector expertise and skilled workforce that Statoil chose Scotland for the world's largest floating windfarm."
