Equinor, the Norwegian oil and gas company, recently inaugurated the 88 MW Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm in the Norwegian North Sea. The electricity produced will be used to power Equinor’s oil and gas fields. The wind farm will help the company cut down its oil and gas prices. It is located 140 km from the coast in water depths ranging from 260 to 300 metres and comprises 11 turbines, each having an 8 MW power generating capacity, mounted on floating concrete structures with a shared anchoring mechanism. The wind farm is already fully operational and started producing electricity in November 2022.
The Equinor’s office in Bergen will be responsible for monitoring this project. It is projected to meet approximately 35 per cent of the yearly energy consumption of five oil and gas fields in Snorre and Gullfak. The project received funding from the Norwegian climate agency Enova and NoX fund of the Norwegian business sector of $216.7 million and $53.3 million respectively. According to the company, it is anticipated that Hywind Tampen will reduce carbon dioxide emissions with 2,00,000 tonnes yearly from producers of key oil and gas in the North Sea. Furthermore, the wind farm will serve as a testing ground for the advancement of floating wind technology.
In July 2023, Denham Capital declared the sale of Brazilian renewable energy company Rio Energy assets to Equinor. The transaction included selected Rio Energy assets and management team platform. Denham Capital will continue to own 1.1 GW of Rio Energy’s selected assets despite the asset sale.
