Equinor has begun work on the floating platforms for the offshore wind turbines that will be shipped off to the Hywind Tampen site. The first turbine has been installed on the platform, and Equinor expects all 11 units ready by September.

”Hywind Tampen is now ready to produce for Snorre and Gullfaks in the third quarter,” said Chief Executive Officer of Equinor Anders Opedal during the presentation of the quarterly results.

Hywind Tampen will be the world’s biggest floating offshore wind farm once it enters operation. The original plans detail the use of 11 turbines of 8MW each, adding up to a maximum effect of 88MW.

However, in a letter to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, which EnergyWatch has reviewed by sending a public records disclosure request, Equinor and supplier Siemens Gamesa have succeeded in increasing output.

”In this letter, we wish to inform that the turbines have been upgraded to a capacity of 8.6MW upon delivery from Gamesa, which brings total capacity for the wind farm to 94.6MW,” says Equinor’s project manager of Hywind Tampen, Olav-Bernt Haga, in the letter.

The Hywind Tampen turbines will only partially replace the electricity produced using gas turbines on the platform. The increase in capacity would therefore technically contribute to more power generation and lower emissions. However, it’s not certain that the increase can be utilized.

”Capacity in the export system and reception on the platforms haven’t been upgraded accordingly, but the increase in capacity would contribute to an increase in total annual production through improved uptime. Operational experience with the finished facilities would also be able to contribute to an increase of the entire system’s production capacity through a greater level of utilization,” writes Haga in the letter.

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