Statoil has signed a cooperation agreement with Japanese conglomerate Marubeni to develop fixed and floating offshore wind in latter company’s home market.
A spokeswoman for the Norwegian outfit said the two had done business in oil and gas for many years and are furthering those ties to work in renewables.
It is an “exciting” market for traditional offshore wind but the “big prize” is floating with 75% of the wind resource in deep water areas, she added.
“Sharing our competences and developing a competitive supply chain is essential to lift the number of offshore wind projects in Japan.”
Statoil is meanwhile to strengthen its links with Abu Dhabi company Masdar to explore how Batwind storage technology can be used in more projects.
Statoil is implementing the storage solution at its 30MW Hywind floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Scotland.
“With more renewables coming into production it will be crucial to handle storage to ensure predictable energy supply in periods without wind or sun,” Statoil said.
Image: Statoil
Statoil, Marubeni ink offshore pact
By EBS