Floating offshore wind farm Hywind Tampen will most likely not be a profitable operation for Norway's state-owned oil and gas giant. According to Norwegian media Finansavisen, Equinor New Energy Solutions Executive Vice President Pål Eitrheim doubts that Hywind Tampen will turn a profit – despite a massive state subsidy cheque of approximately NOK 3 billion (EUR 300 million), reports domestic media E24.

"Concerning the profitability of this project, the best-case scenario puts it at zero. Our task now is to work with costs. The most important thing is to promote a technological product that can give us experience no one else has," Eitrheim says.

With 88 MW from a total of 11 wind turbines, Hywind Tampen will supply 35 percent of the annual electricity consumption of fossil fuel rigs Snorre A and B as well as Gullfaks A, B and C.

This will be the first time ever that oil and gas platforms will be powered by offshore wind turbines.

Equinor recently informed that the project's three partners have made their final investment decision for the undertaking, which will also become Norway's first floating offshore wind facility.

The price lands at roughly NOK 5 billion, NOK 2.3 of which is funded by Norwegian state green power fund Enova. Another green domestic fund, The NOx Fund, granted the project NOK 566 million in aid.

One crucial factor of the Tampen plans is that the installation must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Gullfaks and Snorre fields. Equinor expects the project to cut carbon emissions by at least 200,000 tons per year.

Hywind Tampen is set to enter operation in late 2022.

English Edit: Daniel Frank Christensen

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