Equinor is meeting members of Western Isles council today as it aims to roll out its Hywind technology. The Norwegian energy giant, formerly known as Statoil, set up the world’s first floating windfarm off the coast of Peterhead last year. Equinor is exploring the feasibility of an array of floating windfarms in the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles off the isle of Lewis. A Western Isles spokesman confirmed that the company is carrying out early scoping for commercial deployment of the floating offshore wind technology. Other sites in Scotland, France and Ireland are also being considered. Availability of sites in Scotland will be determined by the next leasing round from the Crown Estate, which is responsible for the seabed, and a Marine Scotland plan to be published next year. Formal selection of a site will not take place until 2021/22, with deployment set for after 2026.
Energy Voice 31st May 2018 read more »