Kvaerner to Probe Norwegian Floaters

Kvaerner has signed a contract with Equinor to study how floating concrete substructures for offshore wind turbines to the planned Hywind Tampen project in the North Sea can be designed and constructed.

The objectives of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) assignment are to further mature the design of the concrete substructures, to identify appropriate construction site(s), and to develop a plan for construction, method and cost for production of 11 floating concrete substructures, Kvaerner said.

“Another important part of the FEED contract is to establish an improvement agenda that targets cost and schedule drivers with the purpose of establishing the safest and most cost-efficient concept for project execution. This is a good match for the continuous cost and schedule improvement programmes Kvaerner has implemented over the past 4-5 years,” said Peder Christian Melleby, senior vice president Renewables in Kvaerner.

Late August last year, Equinor and its partners decided to explore the possibilities of supplying the Gullfaks and Snorre fields with power from floating offshore wind. The oil and gas platforms could be the world’s first to receive parts of its power demand from floating wind turbines.

The solution that is being considered is a wind farm consisting of 11 wind turbines based on Equinor’s floating offshore wind concept, Hywind. The 8MW turbines will have a combined capacity of 88MW and are estimated to meet about 35 percent of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, and Gullfaks A, B and C platforms. In periods of higher wind speed, this percentage will be significantly higher, according to Kvaerner.

“During the FEED period we will develop the smartest possible solution to bring down the serial production cost and execution time for 11 concrete units, without compromising with Kvaerner’s renowned ability to deliver predictably. Our ambition is to present an attractive concept and delivery model to Equinor and its partners, and that they choose to realise the Hywind Tampen project with Kvaerner’s solution,” said Melleby.

The final FEED study report will be delivered 1 April 2019. Kvaerner will manage the project out of its headquarters outside Oslo, Norway.