Norwegian energy giant Statoil said yesterday that the first of five turbines for its pioneering Hywind project is en route to Scotland.
The turbine left the assembly yard in Stord, Norway, late Tuesday night and should arrive in the Buchan Deep, 15miles east of Peterhead, in four to five days.
The Hywind pilot park will be the world’s first commercial floating wind farm, with the ability to power about 20,000 homes when production starts later this year.
The 830-ft tall turbines will be towed individually to Scottish waters in a standing position.
They are housed on top of floating ballasted steel cylinders, which are fastened to the seabed by mooring lines.
Once they arrive on site, work will start immediately to install anchor lines and perform the hook-up, a process expected to take up to three days.
Turbine installation is slated for completion by the end of August.
Main towing vessels are Normand Drott and Normand Ranger, while Normand Prosper has been booked to install anchor lines and perform hook-up.
Statoil is the operator of Hywind with a 75% stake in the project, while Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, has 25%.
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