TotalEnergies says it has launched of a pilot project consisting of a floating wind turbine to supply renewable power to Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea, thus pioneering an innovative decarbonisation scheme.
The 3 MW floating wind turbine will be located 2 km west of the Culzean platform, 220 km off the eastern coast of Scotland. The turbine, expected to be fully operational by end 2025, will supply around 20% of Culzean’s power requirement, thereby reducing its GHG emissions. The turbine will be installed on a modular, light semi-submersible floater hull designed by Ocergy, allowing for fast assembly and optimised costs.
“This innovative pilot project aims at proving the concept of hybridization of power generation on an offshore facility, by integrating the generation of renewable electricity from a floating wind turbine with the existing power generation from gas turbines. It also aims at qualifying a promising floater design for the future of floating offshore wind,” said Marie-Noelle Semeria, Chief Technology Officer at TotalEnergies.
The pilot project was selected in Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round, designed to encourage and support the use of offshore wind energy to directly supply offshore oil & gas platforms.
