- Norway’s METCentre has collaborated with three companies on tests of 15 MW and larger sized floating wind turbines.
- The test site has also been extended to take in seven turbines generating 85 MW at the METCentre.
- They are supposed to reduce costs and drive forward the development of Norway’s commercial offshore wind farm, Utsira Nord.
- Norway is literally taking the lead in floating offshore wind innovation.
Floating Offshore Wind Technology on a Roll thanks to Premier Testing Facility, METCentre. It’s booming with floating offshore wind technology, with the premier testing facility behind it. It is situated off the west coast of Norway, and within recent times, they have signed contracts with three companies about testing new floating wind turbine designs for the purpose of propelling cost competitiveness and moving Norway to the helm of this young renewable energy sector.
METCentre has advanced the game by expanding the test area from which it operates to hold seven floating wind turbines at once. The turbines are scheduled to deliver a total of 85 MW, while they are some of the biggest floating wind technology ever thought of, as the turbines themselves are over 15 MW in capacity. The capacity is the first time in the world that turbines of that capacity will be tested in a floating offshore environment.
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“Floating offshore wind innovation has great news,” said METCentre head Arvid Nesse. He highlighted that it is the gains in technology that are key to success for Norway’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm, Utsira Nord.
Strategically located next to the Utsira Nord project, expanded capabilities at the METCentre make it the only testing facility in the world prepared to handle projects this size. Nesse is confident that floating offshore wind power is not going to take off in Norway without some significant delays if it does not start at the METCentre.
No names are known publicly for the firms involved in these projects, largely because the competition for funding is ongoing. Yet Nesse pointed out to me that these firms are applying for funding from ENOVA, the government agency established specially to promote green energy solutions. ENOVA has just announced a new scheme, it says, aimed at helping fund floating offshore wind technology, and some of the funding up for grabs is what the projects at METCentre are competing for.
According to Nesse, the entry of the government of Norway would thus determine whether the country would successfully engage in this field. He stated that investment in demonstration and testing projects “is the way to reduce risk and increase profitability for future commercial floating offshore wind farms,” he said.
As the floating offshore wind sector opens up worldwide, the work of METCentre will be at the vanguard of innovation and cost reduction. It is something that not only holds great value for Norway as it advances its agenda for renewable energy but also holds significant value for shaping the future of floating offshore wind globally.
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Norway is stepping up its efforts with regard to floating offshore wind technology, and METCentre will likely play a central role in testing and innovation related to it. In order to develop these capacities and collaborate closely with industry actors, METCentre puts Norway at the forefront in this rapidly developing branch of the sector.
How renewable energy will take the future form-not only in Norway but worldwide-will be defined by success. People are getting less and less satisfied with dirty and unsustainable ways of accessing energy.
