Equinor and the Snorre and Gullfaks partners have made a final investment decision for the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind project in Norway.
According to Equinor, two updated plans for the project development and operation will be submitted to Norwegian authorities today, 11 October.
The Snorre and Gullfaks oil & gas platforms will be the first-ever powered by a floating offshore wind farm, set to be located some 140km from shore in 260-300m of water between the platforms.
“The pioneering Hywind Tampen project will help cut emissions from Gullfaks and Snorre. 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 , Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Development & Production Norway.
“The authorities’ consent to extending the productive life of the Gullfaks field to 2036 and the Snorre field to 2040, up to 20 years longer than when the fields were initially planned, has been essential to realizing the Hywind Tampen project.”
The Hywind Tampen investments will total almost NOK 5 billion (approximately EUR 497.3 million), including recent funding from Enova , as well as from the Business Sector’s NOx Fund .
The wind farm will comprise 11 8MW turbines based on the Hywind technology developed by Equinor and with the capacity of 88MW will be able to meet circa 35% of the annual power demand of the Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B and C platforms.
Scheduled to come online in late 2022, Hywind Tampen will be operated from Equinor’s Bergen office. Gulen Industrihamn in western Norway has been chosen for the assembly of the floating wind turbines.