Able to power 50,000 homes, the ‘world’s largest floating wind farm’ takes another step forward

Able to power 50,000 homes, the ‘world’s largest floating wind farm’ takes another step forward

Norway's Statkraft said Tuesday that a long-term purchasing agreement related to a floating offshore wind farm dubbed "the world's largest" had started, in another step forward for the energy sector. The Kincardine Offshore Windfarm is a six turbine, 50 megawatt facility located in waters off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland. Turbine installation for the project — which Statkraft described as "the world's largest floating wind farm" — was recently completed. A power purchase agreement between Statkraft and developer Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Ltd, signed in 2018 but which now enters into force, will see the former buy "all electrical output from the floating wind project with a guaranteed minimum price per MWh [megawatt hour] until 2029." According to Statkraft, which is owned by the Norwegian state, the KOWL project will send more than 200,000 megawatt hours to the grid each year. This, it said, would be enough to power more than 50,000 homes. "This is the first floating project that Statkraft has been involved in and we expect more to follow," John Puddephatt, Statkraft's manager for long term PPA origination, said in a statement. The technology, Puddephatt said, "could help countries around the world achieve their renewable energy targets." Statkraft is