World’s largest floating wind farm opened in Norway

Norwegian energy company Equinor and its partners unveiled the world’s largest floating wind farm, the production of which would supply local oil and gas sites while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Hywind Tampen wind farm began producing power in November last year and reached maximum capacity earlier this month.

The Hywind Tampen wind farm is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes per year, or 0.4% of total CO2 emissions in Norway in 2022.

Some environmental activists believe the decision is beneficial because it reduces CO2 emissions, while others believe Norway should stop producing oil and gas.

What idea is at the heart of The Hywind Tampen

Hywind Tampen consists of 11 wind turbines attached to a floating base anchored to the sea floor rather than fastened to the ocean bed. This new technology industry experts think is ideal for usage in further offshore seas and that Equinor plans to develop.

Its 88-megawatt capacity will meet around 35% of annual power demand for five platforms at the North Sea’s Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas fields, approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) off Norway’s west coast.

Hywind Tampen’s expenses have grown from an early forecast of 5.2 billion crowns ($491 million) in 2020 to 7.4 billion crowns due to raw material delays, quality difficulties, inflation, and currency implications.

What the Equinor wind farm plans

Nonetheless, an expected increase in Norwegian CO2 taxation and rising petrol prices aided the project’s funding, which also received about 2.9 billion crowns in subsidies, according to Equinor.

Norway plans to apply for its first commercial wind farms, including three floating ones, this autumn, with a goal of 30 gigatonnes of wind power by 2040, doubling the country’s current power output.