World outlook
Multi-faceted perfection
the offshore sector has looked to alternative energy sources for provision of power, such as wind.” If anything, this is apparent from the numbers, with Norwegian wind production hitting 14.8TWh in 2022 – up from just 1GWh at the start of the millennium. That’s echoed by other developments. Especially since reforms to the permitting system that give local municipalities more say about where and how turbines are built, Galaaen notes “there’s a stronger and renewed political wish for more onshore wind”. That’s clear, at any rate, when it comes to onshore production. In December 2022, to give one example, a trio of companies said they were partnering to build around 50 wind turbines near Høyanger, in the mountains north of Bergen. That’s echoed by offshore production, too.
In 2022, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated that he wanted to allocate 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040 – representing more electricity than Norway currently consumes per annum. Like with landlocked developments, moreover, these aspirations dovetail with real-world action. In March 2023, Støre opened its first tenders to build offshore turbines in an area off southern Norway that are enough to power 460,000 houses.
Taking it slow Flawless expertise
From seismic surveys and offshore windfarm installation to upstream oil & gas logistics and supply base management, count on GAC Energy’s technical expertise, global network and dazzling reputation to deliver your strategy.
GAC Energy’s multi-faceted shipping, logistics and marine services, together with a host of other value-adding options, ensure safely and sustainably delivered solutions – on budget, on time, every time.
gac.com/energy
Though efforts are sure to hearten critics like Friends of the Earth, they still leave Norway’s vast oil and gas reserves untouched. Hywind Tampen, however, could provide a way forward. Boasting a capacity of 88MW, this is the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm. But unlike other projects, Hywind Tampen isn’t there to power the 5.4 million people who call Norway home. Rather, by powering the nearby Snorre and Gullfaks offshore oil and gas fields, developers Equinor hope to mitigate some of the sector’s worst environmental effects.
In a theoretical sense, this feels sensible.
Traditionally, such petroleum installations are powered by gas turbines, even as Galaaen argues “there’s a clear climate benefit to electrifying them with renewables”. But by switching in wind turbines, Leitch explains that a “fully electrified platform has the potential to reduce its offshore emissions by up to 90%”. So far, so green. But there’s obviously a problem here. For if Hywind Tampen promises to make Norwegian oil and gas more sustainable in the first instance, it does nothing to mitigate its impact downstream.
fb.com/GACgroup
linkedin.com/company/gac-group
12
“While platform electrification can help reduce emissions associated with the extraction process,” Leitch warns, “it is still ultimately a fossil fuel which is being extracted”, adding that 90% of fossil fuel emissions actually come from being used as
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-technology.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41
