The world’s largest offshore wind farm has started producing clean energy — and our ambition is for it not to be the largest for long. However, rising costs mean that challenges are looming on the horizon.
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What next for the offshore wind industry?
- Energy transition & net zero
- Our energy solutions
Hywind Tampen has shown what is possible in floating offshore wind
Off the coast of North Sea, near Bergen, eleven wind turbines are generating renewable power. The Hywind Tampen wind farm supplies the Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas fields with clean energy, significantly reducing emissions. What’s more, the park is a pioneering project demonstrating what can be achieved with floating offshore wind.
I feel very privileged and proud to be involved in the startup phase of Norway's first and the world's largest floating wind farm. We’re developing an industry with the potential to globally change the energy sector and make an important contribution towards meeting climate goals. I truly believe our work is making a difference.
Olea Synnøve Hofshagen
Senior engineer in offshore wind at Equinor
From the Sandsli offices in Bergen, Hofshagen and the rest of the operations team coordinate maintenance plans, logistics, and other tasks related to field operations. They also maintain close contact with the control room, reviewing daily activities and weather conditions to provide power forecasts for the platforms.
Hofshagen originally studied geology and previously worked in the petroleum sector – like many of her renewable-energy colleagues.
“Equinor’s transition into a broad energy company means we play a significant role in the energy transition. It also leads to numerous exciting development opportunities within the company,” she adds.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge from the Norwegian continental shelf that can be transferred to offshore wind. The wind resources in the North Sea are exceptional, something many people aren't aware of.”
Significant milestones
Off the Yorkshire coast lies what will become the world’s largest bottom-fixed offshore wind farm: Dogger Bank. In October 2023, the first wind turbine began generating renewable power for the British. By 2026, a total of 277 wind turbines will be installed, with a combined capacity of 3.6 GW, equating to the annual power usage of around six million British homes.
Hywind Tampen and Dogger Bank are significant milestones that Equinor is leveraging in the further development of offshore wind.
Even though Dogger Bank is in England, it’s in our ‘neighbourhood’ in the North Sea – showing that this is also feasible at home. The goal is for offshore wind in Norway, as in the UK, to produce clean energy and create jobs. With Hywind Tampen, we’ve shown it’s possible to build a new Norwegian industry on the shoulders of the oil and gas sector.
Siri Espedal Kindem
Head of Equinor's renewables operations in Norway
Large-scale production should bring costs down
Norway has big plans for offshore wind: by 2040, the authorities aim to grant offshore wind area licences capable of producing 30,000 MW – almost as much as today’s total Norwegian hydropower production.
In 2023 a competition was announced for two areas: Utsira North for floating offshore wind and Southern North Sea II for bottom-fixed wind.
Hywind Tampen. Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland
Norway’s offshore wind initiative also offers vast opportunities for the supplier industry, which is now transitioning to participate in this new industrial chapter.
“With Hywind Tampen, Equinor and its suppliers have tested which solutions work for floating offshore wind. Utsira Nord will provide the opportunity to scale and industrialise these solutions to reduce costs,” says Kindem.
Now, there will be many more wind turbines – and the Wergeland base in Sløvåg, Gulen municipality, is gearing up to be the ‘offshore wind factory’ that will make it happen. This was also where the Hywind Tampen turbines were assembled.
From the assembly of the Hywind Tampen turbines in Gulen in Ytre Sogn.
Wergeland plans to mass-produce concrete foundations and then attach them to wind turbines. Depending on the design chosen for the assembly line, between 20 and 50 units will be produced here each year, creating 200 to 800 new jobs just in the production line.
“We know that one industrial job leads to around three years of work in related services – so it's clear that this is a great opportunity for us and the local community. We are ready and looking forward to it,” says Irene Wergeland, communications manager of the Wergeland Group.
She believes this project exemplifies the energy transition in practice.
“We have systematically worked towards sustainability for a long time, and it’s incredibly motivating to see that we can be part of the green shift. To meet climate goals, we must include sustainability in everything we do. This, coupled with the expertise we’ve developed in this industrial area and our strategic location, can help make the wind turbine venture economically sustainable,” says Wergeland.
The challenges are not deterring ambitions
In other words, there are high expectations for Norway’s offshore wind initiative. But the challenges are also significant.
Equinor’s Trollvind project had to be indefinitely postponed due to increased costs and delays in new technology. And the large offshore wind projects in New York have also become costlier and more challenging than initially expected, leading to a reset on Empire Wind 2.
Even though offshore wind is experiencing a challenging period, the company's long-term belief in offshore wind remains unchanged. The same is true for Norway’s potential for offshore wind – the long and windy coastline isn’t going anywhere.
Offshore wind
Most wind turbines in the world today are bottom-fixed turbines standing in water depths of around 60 meters.
The next generation of offshore wind turbines is designed to float far out to sea. There the wind is stronger, but the depth of water makes it uneconomical to use bottom-fixed turbines.
The majority of the Norwegian continental shelf is suited for floating offshore wind. Although the potential in offshore wind is substantial, both floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind currently rely on subsidy schemes to be competitive in Norway.
Floating offshore wind has the most cost-intensive technology.
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