Green Volt wind farm could power multiple North Sea platforms
Feb. 9, 2023
Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn have jointly submitted a marine license application for the proposed Green Volt floating offshore wind farm in the central UK North Sea.
The Green Volt offshore wind project proposes to develop a floating offshore wind farm to facilitate a first-of-its-kind decarbonization of the oil and gas industry through the complete electrification of the Buzzard oil and gas field (operated by CPEL). The photo highlights the Buzzard oil and gas facility, with power generation chimneys visible on the leftmost platform.
Offshore staff
EDINBURGH, UK—Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn have jointly submitted a marine license application for the proposed Green Volt floating offshore wind farm in the central UK North Sea.
If approved, the project could generate first power in the mid-2020s. The partners are applying for a lease for Green Volt under the Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) round.
The project, 80 km offshore Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, would feature up to 35 floating wind turbines delivering 500 MW that could potentially electrify all main oil and gas platforms in the Outer Moray Firth area, as well as supplying electricity to domestic consumers.
It could also cut more than 1 MM metric tons per year of carbon emissions from the platforms, the partnership claims.
Flotation Energy, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, manages 13 GW of offshore wind projects in the UK, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan and Australia, with ambitions to branch into other markets.
Vårgrønn, owned by Eni subsidiary Plenitude and Norwegian investment group HitecVision, was formed in 2020. It has a 20% interest in the Dogger Bank wind farm development in the UK North Sea and is working on other floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind projects in Norway.
Green Volt Offshore Windfarm Ltd. is a new company formed by Flotation Energy Plc and CNOOC Petroleum Europe Ltd. (CPEL).
As a major UK oil and gas facility with a large electrical load and long operating life, CPEL says "Buzzard presents an excellent opportunity to begin the decarbonization of offshore oil and gas production."
