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With the publication of a project plan for the installation, three Norwegian businesses are moving forward with the development of the first floating offshore wind farm in the Arctic Circle.
The GoliatVIND project calls for the installation of a 75-MW array in the Barents Sea, much to the northwest of Hammerfest, Norway. The station would be connected to the Goliat oil production complex, which is run by the Norwegian energy giant Equinor and the oil and gas company Vr Energi. Currently, an underwater cable connected to power coming from land supplies electricity to the platform.
Several organisations are working on the wind farm, including Vr Energi, Odfjell Oceanwind, and Source Galileo Norge. Approximately 300 GWh of power might be produced yearly by GoliatVIND, according to officials. The project calls for the installation of 15-MW turbines on Deepsea Star, the floating wind foundation built by Odfjell Oceanwind. On April 26, officials stated that they anticipate the wind farm to begin operations as early as 2026.
According to Odfjell Oceanwind, the Deepsea Star is a moored semisubmersible floating wind foundation made of steel. Odfjell Oceanwind has claimed that the design may be appropriate for offshore wind areas all throughout the North Atlantic. The depth of the water near GoliatVIND is between 300 and 400 metres.
A final investment decision for GoliatVIND is still pending, according to officials. An environmental impact analysis and various regulatory permissions are still required for the project. The project’s construction consortium is still in communication with fishing interests and other Barents Sea users.
For more than 20 years, Odfjell Oceanwind has been creating floating offshore wind solutions. A developer and investor in renewable energy systems, such as solar, battery, hydrogen, and onshore and offshore wind, Source Galileo is based in Europe. The organisation primarily in charge of floating offshore wind in Norway is called Source Galileo Norge. In Norway, Source Galileo and Odfjell Oceanwind are building floating wind projects, and they intend to compete for a seabed licence on Utsira Nord.
Offshore wind farms are already used to power oil and gas sites in other regions. The first of these installations was the 88-MW Hywind Tampen project, which was started by Equinor in 2020 and went into operation in November 2022. The Snorre and Gullfaks offshore oil rigs in the North Sea were intended to be powered by it.
