Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil has announced that it intends to focus its efforts in renewable energy on offshore wind.
But that decision means that the company will gradually divest its onshore wind power projects, which comprise around 18 turbines in two locations in Norway.
“We’ve become involved in major offshore wind power projects in recent years,” explains Anne Strømmen Lycke, who heads the company’s wind efforts. “These include the Sheringham Shoal wind farm, currently under construction, and the licensed Dogger Bank project [both in the UK].”
The combination of strong international growth in offshore wind and good progress with the company’s Hywind floating offshore wind turbine have been instrumental in the decision.
According to Statoil, the market for such offshore wind turbines has grown 50% in the last year.
“We aim to secure a leading position by using our competitive advantages in technology and our experience of marine operations from almost 40 years in the offshore sector,” says Lycke.
Through a combination of new technologies, including a gearless turbine as well as Hywind, Statoil is hoping to achieve a cost per kilowatt hour of power generated by offshore wind that does not require subsidies in the longer term.
“It now looks as if we’ll be able to cut the costs of floating wind turbines by more than 50%,” says Sjur Bratland, who manages the Hywind project. “We’re currently analysing alternative locations for a demonstration farm embracing several floating turbines as the next stage in the commercialisation of this concept.”
Meanwhile, another floating energy technology designed by Swedish company Hexicon is hoping to start its test phase.
The concept is for a 360 m floating platform housing seven wind turbines and wave energy generators totalling 30 MW.
The advantages of the technology, says the developer, is that it can be deployed regardless of sea depth, can house most wave, water, wind or ocean current energy devices, can be built to withstand harsh weather conditions, is flexible in terms of size and capacity, requires less maintenance and can be assembled and equipped on site.
The pilot project, which will complete in 2013, will cost around 950 million SEK (€100 million) and hopes to attract support from the EU.