Stage one of construction of the Hywind Tampen concrete foundations was completed this week at Aker Solutions’ yard in Stord, Norway.
The 11 substructures are currently being towed to the deep-water site at Dommersnes in Vindafjord, where the rest of the slip-forming and mechanical outfitting will be completed.
This is the first concrete slipforming for an offshore project on the Norwegian continental shelf since the Troll A platform was delivered in 1995.
Hywind Tampen is an 88 MW floating wind power project intended to provide electricity for the Snorre and Gullfaks offshore field operations in the Norwegian North Sea.
It will be the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm and the world’s first to power offshore oil and gas platforms.
It is also the first floating wind project from Equinor using concrete technology for wind projects.
Olav-Bernt Haga, Equinor’s project director for Hywind Tampen, said: “The project represents a direct transfer of technology from oil- and gas to renewable.
“The giant Troll A substructure was 369 meters. Now we are building 11 small Trolls. The project is on schedule despite the challenges around covid-19.”
The steel anchors are being welded together at Aker Solutions’ yard in Verdal. The nacelles, blades and turbine towers will be produced in Europe and shipped to Wergelands base in Gulen.
In 2022 all the elements will be collected at the site in Gulen and the assembly work will start using what is probably the largest crane that has been onshore in Norway.
“We plan to start towing the completed wind turbines to Tampen early summer of 2022 and complete the offshore work by the end of the year,” says Haga.
“This is a large and complex industrial project where we use our experience from oil and gas projects.”
In 2009, Equinor installed the first ever floating offshore wind turbine, and Hywind Scotland followed in 2017 as the world’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm.
As the operator of Hywind Tampen, Equinor will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the wind farm.
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