Partnership assessing floating power/CO2 capture hub offshore Norway
Techouse and Ocean-Power have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning potential development of a floating gas power plant with CO2 capture capabilities for use offshore Norway.
“A floating power hub with carbon capture capabilities can be a much more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to supplying offshore oil and gas platforms with electrical power from land,” said Techouse CEO Svein Helge Pettersen.
Ocean-Power has developed the power hub concept around floating units fitted with a 200-MW to 250-MW power pack, supplying power both to nearby offshore platforms and to the grid inshore.
For the new development, electricity production would be generated by Techouse’s combined cycle power plants. The CO2 captured from the system’s exhaust would be injected either directly into a nearby geological formation, into a pipeline, or liquefied and then transported by vessel for use elsewhere for permanent storage.
Initially, the collaboration will undertake a study of suitable locations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The aim is to secure a contract to build one or more power hubs.
Ocean-Power will develop and operate a concept using externally sourced natural gas to produce electricity with carbon capture at a suitable installation site.
“We aim to demonstrate a floating power hub that not only meets the energy demands of offshore platforms but also substantially reduces their carbon footprint,” said Ocean-Power CEO Erling Ronglan.
Techouse’s combined cycle solution involves using the heat from the exhaust of gas turbines to generate superheated steam. This, in turn, is exploited to produce additional power in a steam turbine, generating electricity for the offshore platform.
Required power is produced with 22% to 25% less fuel consumption than conventional arrangements, the company said, under which solely gas turbines are used for power and heating onboard an offshore installation.
