Heavy maintenance campaign completed on Hywind Scotland floating offshore wind farm
Equinor and Masdar are pleased to announce that a heavy maintenance campaign has been completed on Hywind Scotland, with all five turbines now connected.
To complete the campaign, the turbines were towed Wergeland Base in Gulen, Norway, to undergo maintenance. This was thesafest, most efficient and proven method, as towing the turbines to shore allowed the operations to take place in a controlled, sheltered environment.
Trine Ulla, Equinor VP of UK Operations, said:“The successful completion of the maintenance campaign on Hywind Scotland is a testament to the collaborative efforts of our teams and partners. As the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Scotland has demonstrated the immense potential of floating wind. Through this maintenance campaign, we’ve gained valuable insights that will help us refine maintenance practices and optimise this technology for the future. By sharing our learnings, we aim to contribute to the growth and development of the floating wind industry.”
Husain Al Meer, Masdar’s Director, Global Offshore Wind & UK, said: “With our track record for pioneering projects using cutting-edge cleanenergytechnologies, Masdar is proud of our longstanding partnership with Equinor on Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm. The successful completion of this maintenance on Hywind Scotland ensures that it will continue to deliver impressive performance and demonstrate the viability and potential of floating offshore wind as a source for renewable energy.”
From operational data, it was previously determined that a heavy maintenance campaign for the wind farm’s five turbines was required.
As the world's first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Scotland, located off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland, has achieved a capacity factor of 54%.With a total generating capacity of 30 MW, the floating wind farm utilises a spar-substructure concept and produces enough electricity to meet the needs of around 35,000 UK households.
In addition to Hywind Scotland, Equinor is the operator for Hywind Tampen: the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm. The wind farm consists of 11 wind turbines based on the floating Hywind concept. Developed by Equinor, Hywind Tampen is also the world’s first floating wind farm built specifically to power offshore oil and gas installations and is now supplying electricity to Equinor’s oil and gas fields, Snorre and Gullfaks, in the Norwegian North Sea.
Facts about Hywind Scotland
- The world’s first floating offshore wind farm, with 5 turbines
- Pilot park covering around 4 square kilometres
- Installed capacity: 30 MW
- Rotor diameter 154 m
- Maximum height, base to turbine: 253 m
- Water depth: 95-120 m
- Spar-type substructure
- Standard offshore wind turbine
- Powering ~35,000 UK homes
- Export cable length: Ca. 30 km
- Average wave height: 1.8 m
Suitable for harsh conditions, simple three-line mooring system, patented motion control reduces fatigue, increases production.