The world’s first floating offshore wind farm, the 30MW Hywind Scotland project operated by Norwegian energy company Equinor, is being temporarily brought offline for a service.
Equinor announced this week that operational data has shown that the five 6MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines require what they describe as “heavy maintenance”.
The five turbines will now be towed to Norway for an overhaul to be conducted by the Wergeland group in Gulen – the same site where Hywind Scotland’s Norwegian sister project, Hywind Tampen, was mobilised.
Brought online in 2017 and located off the coast of Peterhead, the Hywind Scotland project is the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, meaning all developments end up being industry-firsts.
“This is the first such operation for a floating farm and the safest method to do this is to tow the turbines to shore and execute the operations in sheltered conditions,” said Equinor in a statement.
“We will do this during the upcoming summer season, and it is expected to take three to four months.
“Wergeland is the closest port with offshore wind experience and sufficient water depth that can service these turbines. The work will be done in close collaboration with the turbine supplier Siemens Gamesa.”
Equinor added that maintenance will involve “exchanging some components, maintaining others and using the opportunity to do regular service”.
