The wind farm will feature five 6MW Siemens Gamesa turbines, and generate clean electricity required to meet the power need of approximately 20,000 households.
Statoil New Energy Solutions business area executive vice-president Irene Rummelhoff said: “Hywind can be used for water depths up to 800m, thus opening up areas that so far have been inaccessible for offshore wind.
“The learnings from Hywind Scotland will pave the way for new global market opportunities for floating offshore wind energy.”
Statoil and Masdar are planning to deploy a 1MWh lithium battery storage system, Batwind, at the Hywind Scotland project next year.
The battery storage system is designed to mitigate intermittency and optimize output, Statoil said.
Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Our support for floating offshore wind is testament to this government’s commitment to the development of this technology and, coupled with Statoil’s Battery Storage Project, Batwind, puts us at the forefront of this global race and positions Scotland as a world centre for energy innovation.”
Through the Hywind floating wind farm, Statoil aims to reduce the energy costs to €40-€60/MWh by 2030.
Masdar has 25% stake in the project while Statoil, as operator, owns the remaining stake.
Image: The Hywind Scotland floating wind farm off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland. Photo: courtesy of Øyvind Gravås /Woldcam – Statoil ASA.
