Statoil’s 30MW Hywind floating offshore wind farm off Scotland has enjoyed an average capacity factor of 65% during its first three months of operation, a higher than expected energy yield.
The Norwegian developer said the project has also ridden out extremely harsh weather conditions brought on by Storm Ophelia in October and Storm Caroline in December.
The wind farm came through wave heights of 8.2 metres and wind speeds reaching 160km/h during the bouts of inclement weather, it said.
“Hywind Scotland’s high availability has ensured the volume of electricity generated is substantially higher than expected,” said Statoil senior vice president for offshore wind Beate Myking.
Statoil said it was working with its Hywind partners Masdar to reduce the cost of floating technology to between €40-€60 a megawatt-hour by 2030.
Statoil New Energy Solutions executive vice president Irene Rummelhoff said: “Optimised design, larger and more efficient turbines, technology development and larger wind parks will drive down costs, improve infrastructure and logistics.”
Image: Statoil
Hywind prospers in winter winds
By EBS