The Scottish Government has granted a marine license to Norwegian energy firm Statoil to develop a floating wind farm off the coast of Peterhead.
Under the deal, Statoil will develop the pilot park known as Hywind Scotland that consists of five floating 6MW turbines that will generate 135GWh of electricity per year.
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An export cable from the park’s turbine will transport electricity to the shore at Peterhead, located around 25km away. The turbines will be running using a three-point mooring spread and anchoring system and interconnected by cables.
The proposed project is considered to be the largest floating wind farm in the world and first in UK that expects to supply power upto 19,900 homes.
Statoil New Energy Solutions executive vice president Irene Rummelhoff said: "Floating wind represents a new, significant and increasingly competitive renewable energy source.
"Statoil’s objective with developing this pilot park is to demonstrate a commercial, utility-scale floating wind solution, to further increase the global market potential.
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By GlobalData"We are proud to develop this unique project in Scotland, in a region that has optimal wind conditions, a strong supply chain within oil and gas and supportive public policies."
The Carbon Trust company whcih helps organisations reduce their carbon emissions and become more resource efficient believes that floating wind concepts can reduce generating costs to below £100/MWh in commercial deployments and the latest project is expected to produce even lower costs of £85-£95MWh.
Scotland Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: "Hywind is a hugely exciting project – in terms of electricity generation and technology innovation – and it’s a real testament to our energy sector expertise and skilled workforce that Statoil chose Scotland for the world’s largest floating wind farm.
"The momentum is building around the potential for floating offshore wind technology to unlock deeper water sites.
"The ability to leverage existing infrastructure and supply chain capabilities from the offshore oil and gas industry create the ideal conditions to position Scotland as a world leader in floating wind technology."
Image: Hywind Floating Wind Farm. Photo: Courtesy of Scotland Governement.
