Norwegian oil and gas company StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) said it plans to begin building a full-scale, floating wind turbine off the coast of Norway this fall.
The company will invest approximately 400 million Norwegian krone (US$64 million) in the project–called Hywind. It will consist of a 2.3-megawatts (MW) wind turbine made by Siemens (NYSE: SI) attached to the top of a spar buoy. This design is based on floating concrete constructions the company uses in oil drilling operations in the North Sea.
The Turbine blades are expected to have a
diameter of 80 meters, and the nacelle tower will stand about 65 meters
above the sea surface, according to StatoilHydro.
The floating element will have a draft of 100 meters below sea level
and will be moored to the seabed using three anchor points.
StatoilHydro predicts that Hywind will be located in waters with depths
ranging from 120 meters to 700 meters.
Technip (THP.DE), a global oil and gas project manager, will build the flotation element and will be responsible for the offshore installation. Paris-based cable company Nexans (NEX.PA) will lay the cables to shore.
"Taking wind turbines to sea presents new opportunities," Alexandra Bech Gjorv, head of StatoilHydro’s new energy unit, said. "The wind is stronger and more consistent, areas are large and challenges we are familiar with from onshore projects are fewer."
In February, Seattle, Washington-based Principle Power, Inc. signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Energias de Portugal (EDP)(EDPFY.PK) for the phased development of a deep-water offshore wind power project sited off the coast of Portugal using the company’s WindFloat platform.
Loading...