The world’s first floating wind farm is on its way from Norway to Scotland, where it will be installed in the North Sea. The £20 million Hywind-project is state-of- the-art, as it uses a 78-metre-tall underwater ballast and three mooring lines that will be attached to the seabed to keep the turbines upright. Surprisingly, the floating wind turbines are not installed by a renewable energy firm, but by Norway’s Statoil, trying to diversify its energy sector.
Due to the shallow waters of the North Sea, it is easier for the turbines to be mounted atop steel poles that are fixed to the seabed. Yet, fixed-bottom turbines can only be deployed in shallow water, but if offshore wind parks were to introduce floating wind turbines they could soon be introduced to deeper water. This makes them more attractive for deeper shorelines.
Why not share this article?
