Dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME has signed an agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor to study floating concrete substructures for the groundbreaking Hywind Tampen floating wind farm.
The scope of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract is to mature and optimize the design and construction methodology for 11 concrete substructures including secondary steel outfitting, mooring arrangement and project executing strategy for the planned North Sea wind farm project off the coast of Norway.
DEME said the agreement, which is part of the engineering works before the final investment decision, was signed in December 2018 and has a five-month duration.
Equinor has already commissioned a floating offshore wind farm – the world-first 30MW Hywind Scotland came online in 2017 – but Hywind Tampen is expected to be a groundbreaker of another sorts, as the first offshore wind farm to power existing oil platforms. It will consist of 11 8MW turbines which will meet about 35% of the annual power demand of the Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas platforms.
Norway-based Kvaerner in February said it secured a FEED contract with Equinor to study how floating concrete substructures for offshore wind turbines can be designed and constructed for Hywind Tampen.
DNV GL is also working with Equinor to undertake a third-party verification study of the floating wind farm.
DEME said it aims to be at the forefront of developments relating to floating offshore wind technology.
Bart De Poorter, General Manager DEME Offshore, said, “At DEME Offshore we are confident that floating wind energy has the potential to play a key role in the future energy mix. With our vast track record in providing innovative solutions for the offshore energy market and our extensive EPCI experience in major offshore wind projects, we aim to be at the forefront of this emerging industry."
Bart added: "The Hywind Tampen project is considered to be a milestone for the floating offshore wind industry and we are excited to be involved in this challenging project to further broaden our technological capabilities.”