Technip, France and StatoilHydro, Norway, inaugurated a Hywind demonstration wind turbine on September 8 in Karmøy, Norway.
Located 10km offshore from Karmøy, Hywind is, according to Technip, the first full-scale floating wind turbine and has a capacity of 2.3MW.
Following the award of the turnkey contract for the substructure of the wind turbine in
May 2008, Technip's operating centre in Oslo performed the project management and installation engineering. Detail design and fabrication of the substructure was carried out at the group's construction yard in Pori, Finland, which specialises in the construction of Spar platforms.
The total structure measures 165 metres high, of which 100 metres are below the sea level.
The Hywind demonstration unit will operate for a period of at least two years. The objective of the project is to gain knowledge on practical aspects of the operation and maintenance of floating offshore windmills.
