Norwegian energy group Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) announced on Wednesday that the 88-MW Hywind Tampen floating wind project has been cleared by the Ministry of Petroleum and Industry.
The approval comes after in October 2019 Equinor and its partners submitted two updated plans for the development and operation of the facility to local authorities.
The energy major first unveiled plans for Hywind Tampen in late August 2018, saying that the purpose of the wind park will be to supply power to the Gullfaks and Snorre oil and gas fields in the northern North Sea. Equinor’s respective stakes in those fields currently amount to 51% and 33.3%, and its partners in the floating wind project are the holders of the remaining interests -- Petoro AS, OMV (Norge) AS, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS, Wintershall DEA Norge AS and Var Energi AS.
The total cost of the project is estimated at almost NOK 5 billion (USD 490m/EUR 451m), including up to NOK 2.3 billion in funding granted by Norwegian authorities through Enova and up to NOK 566 million coming from the Business Sector’s NOx fund.
Equinor said it has awarded about NOK 3.4 billion worth of contracts for the project on behalf of the partners. This includes turbine assembly and service contracts for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the lease of storage area from Wergeland Base AS and cable fabrication and installation contracts to JDR Cable Systems and Subsea 7, respectively.
Also, Kvaerner AS is tasked with the design procurement and fabrication of the substructure and marine operations, as well as planning and execution of all activities on the assembly site. In turn, the Wood Group will modify the Gullfaks A and Snorre A platforms for reception of electricity from the wind farm. Cranes will be rented from Mammoet.
The Hywind Tampen floating wind farm will be built around 140 kilometres from shore. It will consist of 11 units of 8-MW turbines, which, together, will be able to supply enough power to meet about 35% of the annual demand of the five platforms Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B and C. Completion is scheduled for late 2022.
(NOK 10 = USD 0.981/EUR 0.902)
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Illustration of Hywind Tampen concept. Source: Equinor ASA
