Hywind ready to party

Statoil and Masdar will today officially open the 30MW Hywind floating offshore wind farm in the Buchan Deep off the coast of Scotland.

The wind farm, which features five 6MW Siemens Gamesa machines atop Navantia-made floating spar foundations, has delivered its first power to the grid and will be opened by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Statoil said the technology deployed at Hywind is suitable for water depths of up to 800 metres.

A one megawatt-hour lithium battery storage solution called Batwind will soon be installed at the project.

Sturgeon said: “The development of this technology and, coupled with Statoil’s battery storage project, Batwind, puts us at the forefront of this global race and positions Scotland as a world centre for energy innovation,” she said.

Carbon Trust chief executive Tom Delay said: “With the opening of the Hywind pilot park today, Scotland becomes the world leader for floating wind deployment and we can say with confidence that floating wind is viable. 

“However it is crucial that innovation continues to drive down costs and the right policy is in place to increase investment.”

Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “Hywind’s presence in Scottish waters is a reminder that, as the windiest country in Europe, and with some of the deepest waters and most promising offshore wind sites, Scotland is perfectly placed to capitalise on floating turbine technology.

“That deployment, through sites like Hywind and the Kincardine project further south will help lower costs for this young sector, increasing the opportunity for Scotland to take advantage of a significant future global market.”

Image: Øyvind Gravås /Woldcam/Statoil