Equinor (OSE:EQNR) has confirmed the five floating turbines of its flagship Hywind Scotland project will be re-installed before winter.
The Norwegian energy giant said the installation is “ongoing” on the site off the coast of Peterhead after maintenance was completed in Norway.
A spokesman said the firm has a “robust plan” to make sure all five turbines are installed before the winter season closes the possibility of working in the North Sea.
Hywind Scotland is the world’s first floating offshore wind farm. Opened in 2017, the 30MW scheme consists of five 6-MW turbines and generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 34,000 UK homes.
However, the turbines were towed to the port of Wergeland for maintenance earlier this year after it emerged they needed “major maintenance” after six years of operation.
The choice of Norwegian contractors and locations to fix the historic windfarm caused some disquiet as it appeared projects in UK waters could not be serviced there.
Experts from Onyx Insight had highlighted the “recurring need” for floating turbines to be towed overseas from Scotland due to a lack of port infrastructure and skills in Scotland.
Stavanger-headquartered Global Maritime was awarded the scope from Equinor and partner Masdar for project management and engineering, which included offshore operations, cable and mooring disconnection and laydown.
Contractors also included Netherlands-headquartered heavy lift firm Sarens, which provided cranes to lift nacelles and blades from the floating wind turbines, transport of the components, and delivery of a skidding system to move the generator in and out of the workshop.
The firm also previously completed work marshalling and installing 62 monopiles in the Moray West offshore wind farm, each weighing up to 2,000T – the largest and heaviest XXL monopiles ever to be handled in the UK.
In a statement, Sarens said it deployed a “range of advanced equipment” which required “precise timing and co-ordination”.
The crane used required modifications such as a custom-designed lightweight spacer beam transport of the 75-metre long, 26,5-ton blades, Sarens said.
It added the Liebherr LR 12500-1.0 crane was first used in the Port of Rostock, Germany, where it lifted the monopiles for their assembly in the Baltic Eagle’s offshore wind farm. It was the first unit of this model delivered by the German manufacturer Liebherr.
Sarens added it had been commissioned by the port of Wergeland to replace the bearings in the Hywind five floating wind turbines by the end of September.
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