Expected to be commissioned in 2027, the floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea will be designed to have an annual production of nearly 4.3TWh
Illustration of the Trollvind floating offshore wind farm and the two fields. (Credit: Equinor ASA)
Equinor and its partners in the Troll and Oseberg fields are considering to build the 1GW Trollvind floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Western Norway.
The company’s partners in the two fields include Petoro, TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips, and Shell.
Equinor said that a study has been launched by the partners to look into potential options for the floating offshore wind farm in the Troll area.
The Trollvind project is planned to be located in the Norwegian North Sea, nearly 65km west of Bergen.
According to Equinor, the floating offshore wind farm will be designed to have an annual production of around 4.3TWh.
Expected to be commissioned in 2027, the Trollvind facility will cover the electricity requirements of the Troll and Oseberg offshore fields via an onshore connection point.
Equinor said that the partners intend to purchase as much power as the wind farm can generate at a rate that can make the project possible.
Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal said: “Trollvind is a concept where renewable energy works to facilitate several objectives; helping cut emissions through electrification, delivering power to an area where shortages have already created challenges for new industrial development, and Norway maintains its position as a leader in the industrialisation of floating offshore wind.
“A full-scale floating offshore wind farm like Trollvind could boost momentum towards realising the Norwegian authorities’ ambition to position Norway as an offshore wind nation, building on expertise from the oil and gas industry.”
Equinor stated that the Trollvind floating offshore wind farm is being matured further by partners through the initiation of the feasibility studies aimed at reaching an investment decision in 2023.
The partners are also assessing commercial arrangements under which the Trollvind project can sell power to the Troll and Oseberg installations as well as the Kollsnes plant.
Equinor revealed that the proposed floating offshore wind farm would not need other types of financial support. The company said that as per estimates, Trollvind can produce electricity for less than NOK1/kWh ($0.1/kWh).
Last year, Equinor announced an electrification project worth around $950m for powering the Troll West structure.