Energy Floating wind turbine takes up station in North Sea

摘要

The world's first full scale floating offshore wind turbine has been put into operation in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.rnThe Hywind floating turbine, which weighs 5,300t is situatedrn11km off the island of Karmoey, near the country's south-western coastline.rnThe turbine sits on a floating stand and is anchored to the seabed by three cables.rnWater and rocks are used as ballast to stabilise it.rnNorwegian energy company StatoilHydro said the turbine will be tested for two yearsrnbefore it begins to install floating turbines internationally.rnThe 2.3MW floating turbine required around £40M of investment, making it a much more expensive option than a turbine fixed to the seabed.rnHowever, owner StatoilHydro said it planned to lower the price to be comparable with a fixed wind turbine.