A StatoilHydro pilot project is underway that will see the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine transport electricity by a subsea cable to the island of Karmøy with delivery to the local grid operator Haugaland Kraft.
“We’ve worked this summer on mooring the floater to the three seabed anchor points as well as laying and testing the cable,” says Sjur Bratland, StatoilHydro’s venture manager for Hywind. “It’s very satisfying that both these operations have now been completed with positive results.”
From the operational base at Skudeneshavn, the group has closely monitored the work carried out by contractors Nexans and Siemens to ensure safe and accurate execution, he reports. The rotor blades, which are about 80 meters in diameter, were tested for the first time in Julyas and additional testing is scheduled for September 9.
Plans call for the Hywind unit to start generating electricity in late September or early October, and for testing to continue over a two-year period. The goal is to obtain information and data which can be used for continued development of the concept and to help reduce costs so that floating wind power can compete in the electricity market.