(SCOTLAND)
The world’s first offshore floating wind farm – located off the north east coast of Scotland – is being officially opened today.
Sitting 25km from Peterhead, the £200 million Hywind project is being delivered by Statoil and Masdar, with support from the Scottish Government. The five turbine installation, opened by Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, will be able to power 22,000 homes.
“Hywind can be used for water depths up to 800 meters, thus opening up areas that so far have been inaccessible for offshore wind. The learnings from Hywind Scotland will pave the way for new global market opportunities for floating offshore wind energy. Through their government’s support to develop the Hywind Scotland project, the UK and Scotland are now at the forefront of the development of this exciting new technology. Statoil looks forward to exploring the next steps for floating offshore wind,” Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president of the New Energy Solutions business area in Statoil, said in a statement.
Nicola Sturgeon said the project confirmed Scotland’s position as a “world centre for energy innovation”.
She added: “I am delighted to open Hywind Scotland—the world’s first floating wind farm. Hywind will provide clean energy to over twenty thousand homes and will help us meet our ambitious climate change targets.”
