The world’s largest offshore wind farm was officially opened Wednesday, but not where one would think. Or why..Norway’s state oil company, Equinor toasted — and boasted —its 88 megawatt (mW) Hywind Tampen project as “the world’s first floating wind farm built specifically to power offshore oil and gas installations.”. Norway Crown Prince Haakon Magnusof opens offshore wind farm.Norway Crown Prince Haakon Magnusof opens offshore wind farm. .With Hywind Tampen now operational, Equinor is operating nearly half (47%) of the world’s offshore floating wind capacity — to produce oil..Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon Magnusof and other political figures were on hand to connect the cables..The floating wind farm consists of 11 wind turbines rated at 8.6 mW each and will produce power for the Snorre and Gullfaks offshore fields 140 kilometres off the country’s west coast, while also offsetting 200,000 tonnes of CO2 and 1,000 tonnes of NOX emissions per year..Equinor said Hywind Tampen will be a test bed for further development of floating wind, exploring the use of new and larger turbines, installations methods, simplified moorings, concrete substructures and integration between gas and wind power generation systems.. Norway wind farmNorway wind farm Hywind Tampen. .Floating offshore wind turbines are different from fixed-bottom turbines, which are rooted to the seabed. The main advantage of the floating turbines is they can be installed in deeper waters, and ultimately, be moved..Equinor’s renewables chief, Siri Kindem, said in a statement Norway aims to “build a new industry on the shoulders of the oil and gas industry.”.That’s not likely to go over well with environmentalists who are already outraged over the company’s plans to ramp up oil and gas production in its Arctic waters..Europe’s largest oil producer has announced more than US$19 billion of new projects since summer, ostensibly to enhance Europe’s energy security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine..Norway became Europe’s largest natural gas supplier last year..In June, the Nordic branch of Greenpeace and homegrown environmental group, Natur og Ungdom, sued the Norwegian government over the approvals, alleging they violate the country’s international human rights commitments and constitution.."The Norwegian government is hellbent on opening new oil fields that will produce fossil fuels decades into the future,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Frode Pleym..“It is blatantly disregarding the climate, the science, and even our own Supreme Court in its effort to please the oil industry.”.They also claim the state is violating its obligation to take children's best interests into account, which they say is a violation of both Norway's constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
