Image courtesy Odfjell Oceanwind
Odfjell Oceanwind says its innovative floating wind turbine foundation solution Deepsea Star™ has been chosen for the groundbreaking GoliatVIND wind park project in the Barents Sea.
A consortium comprising Source Galileo and Odfjell Oceanwind is currently refining the project, which aims to install three to five floating wind units, each housing a 15MW wind turbine generator. The earliest projected operational start date is 2026.
Positioned at a latitude of 71°N in the Barents Sea, GoliatVIND could become the first offshore wind park north of the Arctic circle. The park will be connected to the grid through the Goliat FPSO, linking it to the Hammerfest region. Odfjell Oceanwind said ideal water depths of 300-400 meters in the area are well-suited for its Deepsea Star™ solution.
The Goliat FPSO is the world’s largest and most sophisticated floating cylindrical production and storage (FPSO). It has been in operation since 2016 at the Goliat Arctic oil field in the Barents Sea approximately 55 miles northwest of Hammerfest. The platform has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 950,000 barrels. The FPSO is currently powered from shore through a subsea electrical cable, which cuts CO emissions from Goliat by up to 50%.
Odfjell Oceanwind is a Norwegian floating offshore wind expert that combines 50 years of maritime experience working in harsh environments with more than 20 years of floating offshore wind development.
The Goliat FPSO is owned by Vår Energi and Equinor, which have granted the consortium rights to use the cable infrastructure to connect to the onshore grid.
The Deepsea Star™ is a steel moored semisubmersible floating wind foundation that is currently seeking Basic Design Approval (BDA) from DNV for use in multiple North Atlantic locations, including the Norwegian and Barents seas.
Odfjell Oceanwind’s CEO, Per Lund, sees GoliatVIND as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the Deepsea Star™ design and the company’s ability to safely and reliably deliver projects. “The Odfjell companies have long experience in operating steel semisubmersibles in the arctic Barents region, and we look forward to working closely with our project development partner Source Galileo to realise this project,” he said.
Gunnar Birkeland, CEO of Source Galileo Norge, acknowledges the challenges that GoliatVIND presents, but emphasizes the valuable knowledge the partnership with Odfjell Oceanwind will yield for future floating offshore wind projects. A final investment decision is contingent upon further project maturation, regulatory clarification, environmental impact assessment, and demonstration of profitability.
Source Galileo is a European developer and investor in renewable energy systems, including offshore wind. Odfjell Oceanwind and Source Galileo are currently working on floating wind projects in Norway and plan to participate in the competition for seabed leases on Utsira Nord.
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