Local marine contractor Wergeland Base, in western Norway’s Gulen industrial harbour, has been chosen to assemble turbines for the 88MW floating Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm.
At Gulen, in Sogn og Fjordane county, Wergeland Base will construct the 11 8MW wind turbines and other structures, prior to transportation to the field in the North Sea.
No work will commence before an investment decision is made for the project, which is being developed by Equinor.
The developer and its partners are expected to make an investment decision during 2019.
Capital and development costs are pegged at around Nkr5bn, with Nkr566m being provided by an industry NOx fund.
Equinor project director Olav-Bernt Haga said: “Equinor on behalf of the partners, has awarded a contract to Wergeland Base in Gulen industrial harbour, in Sogn og Fjordane, based on assessments of topographic suitability, safety as well as technical and commercial conditions.”
Wergeland Base will provide onshore and inshore areas for storage, assembly and commissioning of all the components for the floating wind turbines, as well as necessary infrastructure and facilities in the project period.
The floating wind turbines will be towed to the field where they will be anchored, connected and put into operation.
Hywind Tampen could potentially become the world’s first offshore wind plant to provide power for offshore oil and gas installations.
Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the five oil and gas platforms at the Snorre and Gullfaks fields is estimated at more than 200,000 tonnes per year.
Hywind Tampen will meet around 35% of the annual power demand of the five platforms.
Haga added: “This is a challenging project requiring optimal technical solutions and further cost reductions before the partners can make an investment decision.”