Equinor is close to generating first power from the world’s first floating wind farm to power offshore oil and gas platforms, Hywind Tampen. An important milestone was reached when the first subsea cables were laid, and connection made to Gullfaks A recently. The project’s initial seven turbines will come on stream this year according to plan and the final four will be installed next spring. The Norwegian developer is also preparing for the start-up of Dogger Bank off the UK. First power is expected in the second half of 2023, with commercial operations beginning in 2024 for Dogger Bank A, 2025 for Dogger Bank B and 2026 for Dogger Bank C respectively. Equinor provided updates on both projects, both located in the North Sea, at the ONS conference in Stavanger.
Equinor and partners recently launched Trollvind, a 1GW floating offshore wind farm outside Bergen with a potential start-up of operations in 2027. Power from Trollvind can make a solid contribution towards electrification of oil and gas installations, deliver extra power to the Bergen-region, and accelerate offshore wind development in Norway. By transferring offshore wind power to shore, as in the Trollvind concept, will enable the possibility of building a larger wind farm than one directly connected to oil and gas installations offshore. Bringing the power to shore also promotes more efficient power utilization through better interaction with regulated hydropower and onshore industry.