TotalEnergies has announced the launch of a floating wind turbine project to reduce carbon emissions at the Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea. The 3 MW turbine, situated 2 kilometres west of the Culzean platform and 220 kilometres off the eastern coast of Scotland is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025. It will supply about 20% of the Culzean’s energy requirements, significantly cutting its greenhouse gas emissions.
The turbine will be installed on a modular, lightweight semi-submersible floater hull designed by Ocergy, which allows for rapid assembly and cost optimisation. This initiative represents a significant integration of renewable energy into traditional oil and gas operations.
Marie-Noelle Semeria, Chief Technology Officer at TotalEnergies, highlighted the project’s dual objectives: “This innovative pilot project aims at proving the concept of hybridisation of power generation on an offshore facility, by integrating the generation of renewable electricity from a floating wind turbine with the existing power generation from gas turbines. It also aims at qualifying a promising floater design for the future of floating offshore wind.”
This project was selected in Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round, an initiative designed to promote the use of offshore wind energy for directly powering offshore oil and gas platforms.