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Statoil Is Out at Sea

Øyvind Hagan/Statoil

Hywind stands in a water depth of about 720 feet.

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Norway-based Statoil ASA (STO) developed a cooperation agreement with Siemens AG (SI) for the technology development of Statoil’s Hywind project. The floating wind turbine was assembled in June 2009.

Why Offshore?

Alexandra Bech Gjørv, head of the New Energy division of Statoil, explains:

The reason: Many countries either lack the space for land-based wind farms or have political and environmental conflicts, such as interference with bird migratory paths or neighbors who don’t want their views compromised.

The challenge: Taking turbines far offshore strategically places them in the path of the stronger, open-ocean winds. The challenge, Gjørv explains, is making the turbines stable enough to withstand strong currents and harsh weather.

The technology: The current prototype depends heavily on emerging technology. For example, Gjørv explains, Statoil and Siemens jointly developed a control system designed to dampen the impact of wave motion on the floating tower.

Future plans: With Statoil reporting that the turbine has performed well through the winter, the next challenge will be building a small demonstration park with several turbines.