Crown Prince Haakon of Norway gave a formal opening speech last week at the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm, according to CNBC. The energy produced by the farm will be utilised to power operations at five oil and gas sites in the North Sea, making it the largest floating offshore platform in the world.
The development of a sizable wind farm is frequently viewed as good news since it holds the promise of lowering carbon emissions that would otherwise be produced by the usage of fossil fuels. However, Hywind Tampen will use the capacity created to power the production of fossil fuels, which is contrary to the objectives of renewable energy.
Many are aware of the project's stark contradiction, but before we get there, let's look at why Hywind Tampen is the biggest floating wind farm.
A project called Hywind Tampen:
The cost of building offshore platforms is increased by the fact that they are frequently fixed to the ocean floor. Since the sea breezes are stronger and more energy can be captured there, projects cannot be carried out there.
A platform with wind turbines mounted on it is moored to the ocean floor to construct a floating wind farm. In an effort to make wind farms financially sustainable, this helps to lower installation costs and increase electricity generation.
The Hywind Tampen project has just 11 wind turbines and is situated 140 kilometres (87 miles) off the coast of Norway. The combined output of these turbines, which total 88 MW, can meet 35 percent of the energy requirements of five production platforms in the area.
The project is being directed by Equinor, a significant participant in Norway's fossil fuel sector. Equinor previously exhibited a project of a similar nature with a 30 MW capacity off the coast of Scotland.
The paradox:
Norway's oil and gas industry isn't experiencing a decline, despite the country maybe leading the globe in the adoption of electric vehicles. As an alternative, the nation keeps using its natural resources to export to other countries and support its economy.
Norway wants to lower its emissions by 200,000 tonnes by constructing a wind farm to partially offset its operational emissions from five gas fields. In absolute terms, this might seem significant, yet it represents just 0.4% of the nation's emissions. Instead of continuing to produce oil and gas, Equinor and Norway should simply quit, according to environmentalists, who would then see a more dramatic impact.
The Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, according to Reuters, asserted that "minimising the footprint" was the best course of action and that "abruptly stopping oil and gas was not the solution in the energy transition."
Hywind Tampen can only counteract the emissions from the fields' operational activities due to its large capacity; it cannot offset emissions from burning the produced quantities.
Norway, which is pursuing an energy transformation, expects to begin putting commercial wind farms into service later this year and has plans to produce 30 GW of energy from offshore wind farms by 2040.
7.4 billion crowns (or $740 million USD) went into the Hywind Tampen project, and 2.9 billion crowns (or $ 290 million USD) were provided in subsidies.
The Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon launched Hywind Tampen, a movable offshore wind farm, last week, according to CNBC. The energy produced by the farm will be utilized to power operations at five oil and gas fields in the North Sea, which is known as the largest floating offshore platform in the world.