TotalEnergies has launched a pilot project consisting of a floating wind turbine to supply renewable energy to the Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea.

Culzean is a high pressure, high temperature gas condensate field in Block 22/25a in the East Central Graben area.

The 3 MW floating wind turbine will be located 2 km west of the Culzean platform, 220 km off the east coast of Scotland. Expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025, this turbine will provide around 20% of Culzean’s electricity needs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The turbine will be installed on a modular, lightweight, semi-submersible float hull developed by Ocergy, allowing for rapid assembly and optimized costs.

“This innovative pilot project aims to prove the concept of hybridizing power generation on an offshore site by integrating the production of renewable electricity by a floating wind turbine with existing power generation by gas turbines. It also aims to qualify a promising floater design for the future of floating offshore wind,” said Marie-Noelle Semeria, Chief Technology Officer at TotalEnergies.

This pilot project was selected as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round and is designed to promote and support the use of offshore wind energy to directly supply offshore oil and gas platforms.