World’s First Floating Wind Farm Restarts Operations After 'Heavy Maintenance.'

World’s First Floating Wind Farm Restarts Operations After 'Heavy Maintenance.' ⸺ Equinor

Trinh Ulla, Photo: Linkedln

Highwind Scotland, the world's first floating wind farm, resumes operation in 2024 after major maintenance. This floating farm, consisting of five Siemens Gamesa 6 MW turbines on SPAR-type foundations, is located 25 kilometers off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland. It can generate enough energy to power 35,000 UK homes, with an average wave height of 1.8m.

The project is owned by Equinor and Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar. In 2014, wind power generated 9.3 percent of the UK's electricity needs, which would increase substantially if a pilot scheme in the North Sea was successful. Highwind Pilot Park, off the northeast coast of Scotland, is the world's first floating wind farm, which opened in 2017.

It was determined from operational data that the wind farm's five turbines require a heavy maintenance campaign. To complete the campaign, the Siemens Gamesa turbines were taken to the Wargeland base in Gullen, Norway for maintenance.

According to Equinor, this was the safest, most efficient, and proven method, as pulling the turbines ashore allowed operations to take place in a controlled, sheltered environment.

The Vice President of UK Operations Trinh Ulla of Equinor stated, "HighWind Scotland, as the world's first floating offshore wind farm, has demonstrated the huge potential of floating wind technology," "We can now optimize the technology for the future and improve our maintenance methods thanks to the insightful information this maintenance campaign has given us. We intend to help the floating wind sector expand and advance by disseminating these lessons learned."

HighWind Scotland, as the world's first floating offshore wind farm, has demonstrated the huge potential of floating wind technology," "We can now optimize the technology for the future and improve our maintenance methods thanks to the insightful information this maintenance campaign has given us. We intend to help the floating wind sector expand and advance by disseminating these lessons learned.

⸺Trinh Ulla

Celebrating five years of operation of the floating wind farm in 2022, Equinor stated "HighWind Scotland was the best-performing offshore wind farm in the world as it achieved a capacity factor of 54 percent in its five years of operation."

Equinor is a global energy company committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future, capable of generating 4,235GWh. With its headquarters in Stavanger Norway, The company focuses on providing energy for people, believes in progress for society, and searches for better.

Equinor’s diverse portfolio includes oil and gas, renewables, and low-carbon solutions, with an ambition of becoming a net-zero energy company by 2050, serving over 170 million people. The company is committed to the UN sustainability goal 2024 and supports Paris Agreement goals. Equinor aims to address energy trilemma ⸺ balancing climate change, affordability, and security. As the leading operator on the Norwegian continental shelf, Equinor is active in around 30 countries worldwide, with 23,449 skilled employees.