The Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas fields in the Norwegian North Sea will soon be powered by energy company Equinor’s offshore floating wind farm, with construction currently underway.

Once construction is completed later this year, the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm — which is being called the world’s largest offshore floating wind farm — is expected to provide electricity to nearby oil and gas fields. This, according to reports, is the first time floating wind farms will power offshore oil and gas platforms.

Source: Equinor

With 11 wind turbines on the floating concrete structure, which is anchored 87 miles off Norway’s coastline, the wind farm has an expected capacity of 88 MW.

Hywind Tampen will serve as a pilot for further floating wind development where developers will explore the use of new, larger turbines, concrete substructures, installation methods, simplified moorings, and the marriage of gas and wind power generation systems.

Capable of staying afloat in depths ranging from 853 ft deep to 984 ft deep, the floating wind farm is expected to meet roughly 35% of the annual electricity power demand of the Snorre and Gullfaks oil and gas field platforms.

Power production from Hywind Tampen is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2022.

For more information on the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Equinor.