Hywind Scotland
Coordinates57°28′59″N 01°21′00″W
CountryScotland, United Kingdom
LocationScotland, Grampian
StatusOperational
Construction began2016
CommissionedOctober 2017
Cost£264m
OwnerEquinor (75%)
Masdar (25%)
OperatorHywind (Scotland) Limited
Ps site area15 km2 (5.8 sq mi)
Wind offshore depth95–120 m (312–394 ft)
Wind offshore distance25 km (16 mi)
Wind hub height101 m (331 ft)
Wind rotor diameter154 m (505 ft)
Wind rated speed10.1 m/s (36 km/h)
Ps units operational5 x 6 MW
Ps units manu modelSiemens Wind Power SWT-6.0-154
Ps electrical capacity30 MW
Ps electrical cap fac54%

Hywind Scotland is the world's first commercial wind farm using floating wind turbines, situated 29 km (18 miles) off Peterhead, Scotland. The farm has five 6 MW Siemens direct-drive turbines on Hywind floating monopiles, with a total capacity of 30 MW.[1] It is operated by Hywind (Scotland) Limited, a joint venture of Equinor (75%) and Masdar (25%).[2]

Equinor (then: Statoil) launched the world's first operational deep-water floating large-capacity wind turbine in 2009, the 2.3 MW Hywind, which cost 400 million NOK (US$71 million, $31/W).[3][4] The 120 metres (390 ft) tall tower with a 2.3 MW Siemens turbine was towed from the Åmøy fjord and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) offshore into the North Sea in 220 metres (720 ft) deep water, off of Stavanger, Norway on 9 June 2009 for a two-year test run,[5] but remains working at the site[6][7] while surviving 40 m/s (89 mph) wind speed and 19 m waves.[8]

In 2015, the company received permission to install the wind farm in Scotland, in an attempt at reducing the cost relative to the original Hywind,[9][10] in accordance with the Scottish Government's commitment for cost reduction.[11] Manufacturing for the project, with a budgeted cost of NOK2 billion (£152m), started in 2016 in Spain, Norway and Scotland. The turbines were assembled in Stord Municipality in Norway in summer 2017 using the Saipem 7000 floating crane, and the finished turbines were moved to near Peterhead.[12][13][14] Three suction anchors hold each turbine,[15][16] measuring 16 metres in height, 5 metres in diameter, and weighing 300 tonnes each.[17] Hywind Scotland was commissioned in October 2017.[18][19][20]

While cost was reduced compared to the very expensive Hywind One at $31m/MW,[8][21][4] it still came with a final capital cost of £264m, or £8.8m/MW, approximately three times the capital cost of fixed offshore windfarms.[22] Measured by unit cost, Hywind's levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) is then £180/MWh ($248/MWh), about three times the typical LCoE of a fixed offshore wind farm at £55/MWh ($75.7/MWh).[23] The high cost is partly compensated by £165.27/MWh from Renewable Obligation Certificates.[24]

In its first 5 years of operation the facility has averaged a capacity factor of 54%, sometimes in 10 meter waves.[25][26][27][28][29] By shutting down at the worst conditions, it survived Hurricane Ophelia, and then Storm Caroline with wind gusts at 160 km/h (99 mph) and waves of 8.2 metres.[30]

The subsequent 88 MW Hywind Tampen (with concrete floating foundations)[31] became operational at the Snorre and Gullfaks oil fields in Norway in 2023[32] at a cost of NOK 8 billion[33] or £600m (£6.8/MW).

In May 2024 all 5 turbines were to be towed back to Norway for several months of the heavy maintenance[34][35] of replacing the main bearings. All turbines were operating again by October 2024.[36][37][38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hill, Joshua S. (2018-02-16). "Hywind Scotland, World's First Floating Wind Farm, Performing Better Than Expected". CleanTechnica. Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Masdar joint venture Hywind Scotland surpasses targets". The Gulf Today. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  3. ^ Ramsey Cox (February–March 2010). "Water Power + Wind Power = Win!". Mother Earth News. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  4. ^ Patel, Sonal (1 December 2009). "Top Plants: Hywind Floating Wind Turbine, North Sea, Norway". POWER Magazine. Archived 30 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Patel, Prachi (2009-06-22). "Floating Wind Turbines to Be Tested". IEEE Spectrum. Archived from the original on 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  6. ^ Førde, Thomas (8 January 2019). "Equinor selger verdens første flytende vindmølle til Unitech" (in Norwegian). Tu.no. Teknisk Ukeblad. Archived 25 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ "Solstad Offshore Installs Subsea Cable for TetraSpar Floater". Offshore Engineer Magazine. 16 September 2021. Archived 2 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Vicente, Rubén Durán (21 April 2020). "Pathway to cost reduction in floating wind technology". corewind.eu.
  9. ^ "How Hywind works - equinor.com". www.equinor.com. Archived 14 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "Hywind Scotland remains the UK's best performing offshore wind farm - equinor.com". www.equinor.com. 23 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Chapter 6: Innovation and Cost Reduction". www.gov.scot. 28 October 2020. Archived 28 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ "Nå starter monteringen av Statoils flytende vindmøller". SYSLA. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Gigant-moduler til verdens første flytende vindpark har ankommet Stordbase". Teknisk Ukeblad. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Floating turbines deliver first electricity". BBC News. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  15. ^ Jannicke Nilsen (20 April 2016). "Sjekk dimensjonene: Disse kjettingene skal feste Statoils flytende vindmølle til havbunnen". Teknisk Ukeblad. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  16. ^ "Hywind Scotland". www.equinor.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  17. ^ google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiB6KyyoMuNAxVHQUEAHTamBEwQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.equinor.com%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Fstatoil%2Fdocuments%2Fnewsroom-additional-documents%2Fnews-attachments%2Fbrochure-hywind-a4.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1Re5o63f142RTMg79pZga2&opi=89978449
  18. ^ McCulloch, Scott (2 November 2015). "Statoil to pilot floating wind farm scheme offshore Peterhead". Daily Record
  19. ^ "Floating wind farm to be installed off Peterhead". BBC News. 2 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Offshore Wind Farm". 4COffshore
  21. ^ "Hywind Scotland is 'proving potential' of floating offshore wind". 23 March 2021. Archived 14 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ^ "Hywind, low economics: The cost of floating offshore wind power". GWPF. Global Warming Policy Foundation
  23. ^ "UK/US study assesses wake steering for floating wind". www.offshore-mag.com. 8 July 2021. Archived 8 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ^ Moestue, Herman (5 September 2018). "Floating wind set for deep cost cuts, high subsidies". Montel. Archived 14 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ^ "Hywind Scotland reaches 5 years in operation". reNEWS - Renewable Energy News. 29 December 2022. Archived 29 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ^ "Equinor and ORE Catapult collaborating to share Hywind Scotland operational data - equinor.com". www.equinor.com. 2019-11-28.
  27. ^ "UK offshore wind capacity factors". energynumbers.info. 2020-01-31. Archived April 18, 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ^ "Hywind Scotland capacity factor". 2022-03-28.
  29. ^ "Hywind Scotland floating wind farm boasts of 57.1% capacity factor". Renewablesnow.com. 23 March 2021. Archived 23 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  30. ^ "Outstanding load factor performance from the world's first floating wind farm - Modern Power Systems". www.modernpowersystems.com. 16 May 2018. Archived 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  31. ^ "First Turbine Installed at World's Largest Floating Offshore Wind Farm". Offshore Wind. 7 June 2022.
  32. ^ "Equinor officially opens 88MW Hywind Tampen". 23 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Havvindanlegget Hywind Tampen sprakk med 44 prosent". Europower | Siste nyheter fra fornybarbransjen. 6 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Equinor to return Hywind turbines to Norway for 'heavy maintenance'". 15 January 2024.
  35. ^ "REPORT - Hywind Scotland Pilot Park Scotland Main Component Exchange 2024 - Environmental Report for Temporary Deposits Marine Licence Application". Archived 2024-03-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ^ Maritime, Global (10 October 2024). "Heavy maintenance campaign completed on Hywind Scotland floating offshore wind farm". www.globalmaritime.com
  37. ^ Vanheeghe, Thibault (29 July 2024). "Hywind Scotland's Heavy Maintenance: Tow-to-Port Approach". Sea Impact - Offshore Wind Market Intelligence
  38. ^ "Sarens Supporting Maintenance Campaign for Hywind Scotland, the World" (in Spanish). Sarens. 14 October 2024.