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Hywind Floating Turbine Installled

June 9, 2009 | 3 Comments

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Oslo, Norway [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] The world's first full-scale floating wind turbine, the so-called Hywind, has been installed, 10km southwest of Karmøy, Norway.

The wind turbine is designed to be placed at ocean depths of between 120 and 700 metres. A test period for the pilot installation is due to begin in the autumn of 2009 and will last for two years.

The floating structure consists of a steel jacket filled with ballast. This floating element will extend 100 meters beneath the surface and will be fastened to the seabed by three anchor piles. The 2.3-MW turbine, which will be mounted on a 65 metre tower on the platform, is manufactured by Siemens. Technip built the floating elements and will be in charge of the offshore installation. Nexans will install the cable to shore and Haugaland Kraft will be responsible for the landfall.

The wind turbine is designed to be placed at ocean depths of between 120 and 700 meters. A test period for the pilot installation is due to begin in the autumn of 2009 and will last for two years.

Developed by StatoilHydro, the company is investing around NOK 400 million [USD $62 million] in the construction and further development of the pilot, and in research and development related to the wind turbine concept.

The public corporation Enova SF, whose aim is to promote the transition to environmentally friendly energy use and energy production in Norway, has granted NOK 59 million [$9 million] in support for the project.

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3 Reader Comments

Comment
1 of 3

Anonymous

June 10, 2009

Perhaps very interesting, but a steel float will be subject to much
corrosion in hostile salt water.

What is the planned maintenance schedule for the subsurface parts?

Comment
2 of 3

Anonymous

June 15, 2009

This article doesn't elaborate; however, I assume this will harness both wind energy with wave/oscillatory energy.

Does anyone read this in kind? If not, I don't understand the benefit of a floating turbine; save aesthetic sensitivity to just off-shore turbines.

Comment
3 of 3

Anonymous

June 24, 2009

Given that the turbine can be taken to depths of up to 700m, the benefit will be that it will not be necessary to construct from the ocean floor (as it will be tethered at three points with sufficient ballast to keep the structure steady), and that the turbine can be taken to areas of the seas where the winds are constant and high, but which would not otherwise be available for exploitation by conventional fixed turbines. Presumably there will also be disposal or even maintenance advantages, as the structures can be towed back to shore.

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