Floating offshore wind farms could be more cost-effective

The Observer reports, 24th November 2013: “A floating wind farm, which ministers hope could hold the key to cutting the cost of renewable energy, has been given the go-ahead by the Crown Estate. The Buchan Deep project will see five turbines with a combined power of 30 megawatts installed by the Norwegian oil company Statoil off the coast of Aberdeenshire in 100 metres of water.

Approval comes as rising fuel bills and a wavering political commitment to developing a low-carbon economy is leading some energy companies to consider cutting back on offshore wind.

The Hywind floating turbine off Norway’s coast has been a testbed for the system.

Energy and climate change minister Michael Fallon said putting turbines on floating platforms rather than concrete bases in the seabed “underlines the dynamism of the sector”. The scheme follows a trend set in the North Sea oil and gas business, where floating production platforms drastically reduced the cost of hydrocarbons and made it possible to move into deeper waters.

The wind industry has set itself a target of cutting its costs by 30% and the Buchan Deep scheme is pencilled in as a major contributor if the trials go well. The Crown Estate, which manages most of the seabed around the UK, says it worked with Statoil for more than two years before approving the project. “Investing in new technologies will be crucial to unlocking offshore wind potential over the long term while we focus on the current development pipeline,” said Huub den Rooijen, head of offshore wind at the Crown Estate.

Last month, offshore wind provided 5% of national electricity consumption from around 24 farms producing 3.6GW. There is now, in total, more than 5GW – enough to power 4m homes — in operation or under construction, at an estimated cost close to £15bn.

The industry grew by 80% as four very large offshore projects became operational during the last 18 months: Greater Gabbard, Gunfleet Sands III, Sheringham Shoalshoal A sandbank or sandbar that makes the water shallow and the London Array off the coast of Kent, currently the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, generating 630MW of power.

Maria McCaffery, chief executive of trade body RenewableUK, stressed this month that the sector was providing jobs as well as low-carbon energy security: “Tens of thousands more will be joining the industry over the rest of this decade as we build out the rest of the projects in the pipeline — as long as government policy is supportive and provides the right framework for one of this country’s greatest modern industrial and environmental success stories to reach its full potential.”

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