The world's first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland, performed better than expected in its first three full months of production, Norway's Statoil said on Thursday.
The company said that despite one hurricane, one winter storm and high waves, the farm performed well.
The 30-megawatt wind farm, operated by Statoil in partnership with Masdar, is located 25 kilometers offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and powers approximately 20,000 U.K. households.
'During the winter, when the wind is at its strongest, the typical capacity factor for a bottom fixed offshore wind farm is 45-60 percent. By comparison, Hywind Scotland achieved an average of approximately 65 percent during November, December and January,' Statoil said.
'We have tested the Hywind technology in harsh weather conditions for many years and we know it works. But putting the world’s first floating wind farm into production comes with some excitement. Therefore, it is very encouraging to see how well the turbines have performed so far,' Beate Myking, senior vice president of offshore wind operations in Statoil said.
Hywind Scotland’s high availability has ensured that the volume of electricity generated is substantially higher than expected, Myking added.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr