Archer Wind has ordered TP-Products’ bolted connections for the floating wind foundation which will be installed as part of the Culzean pilot project. The one-turbine, 3 MW pilot is owned and developed by TotalEnergies and will power the Culzean gas platform in the UK North Sea.
TotalEnergies has contracted Archer Wind, a floating wind company owned by the Norwegian oil and gas service provider Archer, to deliver the floating foundation for the 3 MW wind turbine.
Earlier this year, Archer took over Moreld Ocean Wind (MOW) and with it a stake in the floating wind technology developer Ocergy, whose foundation will be installed at the Culzean site.
According to TP-Products which will supply its patented flange connector, this will be the world’s first bolted floating wind structure.
“After 6 years of extensive testing and analysis, leveraging over 30 years of experience with this technology in the oil & gas industry, this is a significant milestone for us. Wind farm developers are finally recognizing the advantages of bolted solutions over welded ones” , said Sjur Lassesen , Technical Director at TP-Products.
TotalEnergies’ 3 MW floating wind pilot was selected in Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round in 2023 as one of the TOG projects .
The Culzean floating will turbine will be located two kilometres west of the Culzean gas platform it will connect to and 220 kilometres off the coast of Aberdeen.
Once it comes online by the end of 2025, the 3 MW floater will cover approximately 20 per cent of Culzean’s needs, in addition to the electricity already generated by gas turbines, according to TotalEnergies.