Her first encounter with floating offshore wind made a big impression on Olea Synnøve Hofshagen.
We catch up with Olea here at the Bergen office at Sandsli. As an Equinor operations engineer, she and her team are responsible for operating and maintaining Hywind Tampen – the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm that supplies offshore oil and gas platforms with renewable energy.
Hywind Tampen consists of eleven turbines floating in the North Sea, each of which has an impressive wingspan of 167 metres – about the same size as one and a half football pitches.
Three of the floating offshore wind turbines at Hywind Tampen. You can catch a glimpse of the platforms on the Snorre field on the horizon. Photo: Alexei Mokel
“The first time I was offshore and got to see the turbines, I was surprised by just how big they actually are. Standing out there, looking up at those enormous spinning blades, that really gives you a perspective of their size,” says Olea.
Floating offshore wind opens up opportunities to utilise some of the world’s best wind resources, far out at sea, where the waters are too deep for traditional turbines resting on the seabed.
“The advantage is that we can place turbines in areas with higher wind speeds, which means more stable and efficient power generation,” Olea explains. Hywind Tampen delivers electricity directly to the Snorre and Gullfaks platforms, which substantially reduces the use of gas turbines and associated carbon emissions.
“We save around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking 100,000 vehicles off the roads every single year,” says a satisfied Olea.
While floating offshore wind represents ground-breaking technology, Olea is aware that the offshore wind sector faces challenges.
“As of today, floating offshore wind depends on financial support, primarily because the value chain is not yet fully developed. However, the experience gained from Hywind Tampen will allow us to reduce costs and improve future projects.
Offshore wind is experiencing rough weather, where the combination of cost level, inflation, high interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks have complicated project finances for both developers and suppliers. While both onshore wind and fixed offshore wind have managed to become major global industries, floating offshore wind has not yet taken off. However, the underlying goal remains firm – that establishing value chains and large-scale production will significantly reduce costs and open the door for a new Norwegian industry with global potential.
Olea gives an enthusiastic account of her work tasks, which range from technical operation and maintenance to cooperation with helicopter pilots to reinforce offshore preparedness. As a trained geologist, the project has given her quite a lot of experience in working across disciplines.
On a daily basis, she monitors electricity generation along with the operators in the control room at Sandsli in Bergen, and reviews power forecasts that help the platforms optimise their energy consumption. She also regularly travels out to the field on maintenance assignments that usually last a couple of days, depending on weather conditions on the field.
“We sort of turn into hobby meteorologists, because wind and weather are so crucial for both production and maintenance work. When winds are strong, we generate lots of energy, but those conditions can pose a challenge for maintenance. If we have sun and calm seas, maintenance can proceed as planned. Then it’s a pure joy to be in the field,” she says.
Maintenance on Hywind Tampen is a collaborative effort shared among multiple specialist groups.
Photo: Alexei Mokel
Research and technology play an important role in Olea’s job. Among other things, she works closely with Equinor’s department for technology, digitalisation and innovation, which is responsible for a number of projects to investigate the wind farm’s potential impact on marine and bird life. Using camera surveillance and artificial intelligence, they map bird life in the area, and carry out observations of fish and marine mammals.
After just two years of operation, the knowledge gained from Hywind Tampen is already significant. One factor has been how the transition from steel to concrete in the seabed structures has played an important role in reducing costs, while also creating new opportunities for the Norwegian supplier industry.
“We’re continuing to build on our experience from previous projects, like Hywind Demo off Karmøy, and Hywind Scotland – where five wind turbines provide the fishing village of Peterhead with renewable energy. Capturing this knowledge is key for the evolution of floating offshore wind, not just in Norway, but across the globe,” Olea points out.
According to Olea, the most inspiring part of the job is to see how colleagues from both the oil and gas industry and the renewable sector collaborate and work together as a team.
“We’ve built a strong sense of unity, and we work together seamlessly to find quick and efficient solutions to the challenges that arise,” she says.
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She also talks about the pride that comes from helping to shape the offshore wind industry of the future.
“I learn so much, and I really feel that I can have an impact on how we work with offshore wind in Norway. There’s a lot of exciting things happening in Equinor, with many projects in motion and more in the development stage. That gives me a positive attitude for the future,” says Olea.
While the debate continues to rage and there is plenty of uncertainty about offshore wind, Olea finds motivation and hope in the fact that the world needs more energy – and in many places, offshore wind may well be the best and most immediate solution.
“The rapid technological development and the advantages of floating offshore wind make me optimistic.”
Photography is a hobby for Olea, and her camera is a constant companion on trips offshore. She uploads the photos to Equinor’s media bank, and one of them has even been immortalised as wallpaper in a conference room in Stavanger. “I jokingly asked if I should sign the wall when I stopped by for a visit,” she says.
Photo: Olea Synnøve Hofshagen
This is Hywind Tampen
The Hywind Tampen project contributes to further development of floating offshore wind technology, and reduces the costs of future offshore wind farms – both of which create new industrial opportunities for Norway, the licensees and the Norwegian supplier industry in a global energy market.
World’s largest floating offshore wind farm, opened in August 2023.
Located about 140 km off the Norwegian coastline.
Water depth varies between 260 - 300 metres.
The turbines are mounted on floating concrete structures with a shared mooring system.
Total system capacity is 94.6 MW, the equivalent of the annual consumption of 25,000 households.
Since October 2024, the capacity factors have far exceeded 50 per cent. In comparison, the normal capacity factor for onshore wind is approx. 20–40 per cent.
Hywind Tampen supplies the Snorre and Gullfaks fields with electricity – which reduces CO2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes per year and NOX emissions by 1,000 tonnes per year.
Owned by the Gullfaks and Snorre partners: Equinor, Petoro, OMV, Vår Energi, Harbour Energy and INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS.
Enova has provided project support in the amount of NOK 2.3 billion.
A real transition
Stine Myhre Selås thrives on a bit of turbulence — otherwise she wouldn’t have been a manager for offshore wind in Equinor. Or continued to work on wind at all...
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