World’s First Floating Wind Farm in Scotland Back Online
Mike Colagrossi
Seven years ago the world’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland, was established some 15.5 miles off the Scotland coast.
- Since 2017, the 30 MW floating wind farm has the capability to generate enough power to supply 35,000 homes in the UK.
- Norwegian energy company Equinor claims that Hywind Scotland has had the highest average capacity factor among all UK offshore wind farms every year since it began production.
Earlier this year, operational data showed that maintenance was needed for the wind farm’s turbines. Equinor towed the turbines to Wergeland Base, on the west coast of Norway, where they replaced the bearings in five turbines before shipping them back to Scotland.
Trine Ulla, Equinor’s VP of UK operations, said, “Through this maintenance campaign, we’ve gained valuable insights that will help us refine maintenance practices and optimize this technology for the future. By sharing our learnings, we aim to contribute to the growth and development of the floating wind industry.”
This pilot project originally proved that floating wind farms could be built 10 times larger than they currently were.
Offshore Wind Projects in the U.S.
South Fork Wind, located 35 miles east of Montauk, NY, is making waves as the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. With 12 turbines now connected to the grid, the farm will generate enough power to supply 70,000 homes each year.
South Fork Wind’s turbines stand 460 feet above the water, with blades longer than a football field, and are connected to the grid in East Hampton, NY, by a 65-mile subsea cable that leads to an offshore substation
According to the American Clean Power Association (ACP), the United States currently has over 58 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity under development across 37 leases, but many of these projects won’t come online for years.
The industry group estimates that $65 billion will be invested in offshore wind by 2030, supporting 56,000 jobs – up from 1,000 today.
