All turbines installed at 402-MW Dudgeon offshore wind park

All turbines have been installed at the 402-MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm in the UK, Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) said today.

Statoil is the operator of the wind farm and owns a 35% stake. Its partners are Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company Masdar with a 35% share and Norwegian state-owned utility Statkraft with 30%.

Located off the coast of Norfolk in England, Dudgeon features 67 Siemens turbines of 6 MW, which are now all generating electricity. Turbine installation commenced at the start of the year and since first power was generated at the beginning of February all turbines have started production one by one. The wind farm will be fully operational later this year, Statoil said. The turbines were installed by offshore wind installer A2Sea A/S' vessel Sea Challenger.

Statoil said the project was completed below the budget of GBP 1.5 billion (USD 2bn/EUR 1.6bn) set when making the investment decision in 2014.

"Dudgeon offshore wind farm is part of Statoil’s strategy of gradually supplementing our oil and gas portfolio with profitable renewable energy," Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president for new energy solutions, commented, adding that offshore wind has been a natural place to start as the company can take advantage of its maritime expertise and supplier chain.

Statoil also operates the 317-MW Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm in the UK, while its 30-MW Hywind Scotland floating wind farm, where Masdar took a 25% stake, will go live this year. It also owns 50% of the Arkona offshore wind project in Germany.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.309/EUR 1.093)

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