From the key attribute values most aspects pointed towards Utsira Nord to be considered as the most feasible location for a test park. Compared to the other locations, the Utsira site has a significant shorter distance to the coast and transformer station. This would reduce the cost of the cable from the substation to shore as well as reducing the cost and time spent for installation and O&M which should be considered as an advantage for a test park. The wind resources are vast and the wave conditions are the most viable, reducing the forces on the turbines and mooring lines as well as making it easier for both the installation and O&M vessels and personnel to access the turbines.
As the potential impact on third parties and opposing interests are of critical importance, it is essential to include all the affected/involved parties early in the process of choosing location and magnitude of the park. Studies made by NVE showed that Utsira Nord had low impact on opposing interest such as fishing, maritime, O&G interest, birdlife and other aspects compared to Stadthavet, Frøyabanken and Træna vest [75]. Furthermore, the following aspects contributed to the choice of Utsira as the most feasibly site for a test park:
Statnett has stated that an installation of up to 500 MW at Utsira Nord should be able to be connected to the grid without any significant challenges. Moreover, Statnett concluded that all other locations for floating wind suggested in NVE’s report will have major problems connecting to the grid before 2030 and that major investments would be required in order to do this. [76]
49 Utsira Nord is located close to areas with a high energy demand as it is close to both Stavanger, Haugesund and Karmøy with a high energy intensive industry where Hydro’s aluminium production facility alone consumes 2.6 TWh annually [77]. Hydro also have plans on expanding their production with the world’s most energy efficient aluminium plant. The pilot facility could produce 70,000 tonnes of aluminium per year with a demand of approximately 115 MW and could begin its production in 2017 with the possibility to start a new full scale aluminium facility in a reasonable time after this. The total additional power demand (pilot facility included) would be roughly 500 MW. [78] Normally, the production continues all around the year [78], resulting in approximately 4.4 TWh higher power demand each year in the area. The decision whether to on with the plans or not depends on the profitability, power- and grid solutions and support from Enova. [78] In June 2014, it was announced that Hydro would receive financial support from Enova which has decided to contribute 1.5 billion NOK toward Hydro’s full scale next-generation electrolysis pilot project. [79] A floating offshore wind power plant outside Karmøy could be directly linked to the aluminium production to somewhat avoid an expensive upgrade of the electrical grid in order to secure the supply of the increased power demand.
At the same time, there are ongoing plans to electrify the nearby O&G area Utsira High with a cable from shore. The electrification will generate a new power demand of 250 MW, increasing the yearly load in the area by 2.2 TWh. This together with Hydro’s plans would double the electricity demand in Sunnhordland and significant grid investments would be required to secure the energy supply. [50] Even if the electrification project wouldn’t be built, there is still a high energy use in this area which could benefit from a wind power installation.
The innovative wind power plant together with the world’s most energy efficient aluminium production [80] could be showcased towards the world as a centre for clean tech technology promoting Norwegian industry. The already existing test facility at Utsira for combining wind power and hydrogen electrolysis could also be expanded which would further increase the attractiveness of the area as an innovative clean technology centre.
As mentioned, the Utsira Nord site is close to both Haugesund and Stavanger and thereby close to their large harbours. The two cities both have strong settlements of O&G expertise and considerable experience in offshore unit production.
Statnett is planning to build a 1400 MW HVDC cable between Kvilldal and UK [81], showed in Figure 32. This will further increase the need of new power production in the area. The floating wind power facility could be constructed in connection to this HVDC cable, with the possibility to expand the park further.
50
Figure 32. The planned export cable to Newcastle from Kvilldal as well as the suggested wind power park at Utsira Nord.
Utsira Nord is the only location for floating wind which was classified as “grade A” by NVE, meaning it was highly suitable for wind power development. [82]
There are however some opposing interests which need to be considered
The northern part of the Utsira Nord site seen in Figure 33 overlaps with the area used by the Norwegian Air Force and the Norwegian Navy for practice purposes [83].Wind power could be in direct conflict with today’s use of the areas, however, the potential conflict of interest in this area can be easily avoided by not developing in this overlapping area in the north. The south part of the Utsira site seen in Figure 34 is overlapped by the Karmøy field, which is considered a valuable area with high biological production with spring-spawning herring and shrimps [75]. Further studies would be required to determine the environmental impacts of the floating wind power in this area. To avoid conflicts, the wind power park could be considered to be situated just north of the Karmøy field area.
Figure 33. The overlapping area of the shooting- and practice field in the Utsira area.
Figure 34. The overlapping area of the Karmøy field with the Utsira area.
51 Based on the key values established by NVE, the low impact on opposing interests and the low distance to Stavanger and Haugesund, Utsira Nord was chosen as the most suitable location for a test facility for floating wind power. The area, however, is quite trafficked which together with its proximity to shore may be associated with a relatively high environmental risk and an development should be done with close co-ordination with the Norwegian Coastal Administration to ensure navigational interests are maintained [82]. Further studies in the form of an EIA would however be necessary to further study the impact on the environment and opposing parties before the test park could be built.
Test park setup
The test park was designed for 288 MW of wind power mainly for three reasons: To be able to show the international market of Norway’s expertise to install and operate a floating wind park, to show that Norway have the supply-chain for a large scale park and to be the first country with a floating wind power park of this size.