Kvaerner has hailed the award of a Nkr1.5 billion ($163 million) contract to deliver wind turbine substructures for Equinor’s ground-breaking Hywind Tampen project off Norway as a “strategic breakthrough” in its effort to diversify beyond oil and gas installations.

At the same time, the Norwegian engineering and fabrication contractor is drawing on its expertise in building concrete gravity-base structures for the oil industry - such as Troll A off Norway and Hebron off Canada - to supply the floating concrete hulls for the 11 turbines to be installed under the ground-breaking project to supply power for the Snorre and Gullfaks fields in the North Sea.

As well as the engineering, procurement and construction deal, Kvaerner will carry out marine operations that include mooring system installation, tow-out of the units and installation of the turbines under a newly minted 50:50 joint venture with compatriot DOF Subsea.

Kvaerner was engaged earlier this spring by Equinor to carry out early-phase engineering for the project and the final contract marks its first major award since it recently unveiled a strategy to expand in the renewable energy business, as well as fabrication of FPSO topsides, to broaden its revenue stream.

The contractor has also recently won a pre-front-end engineering and design job for Equinor's proposed Empire Wind project off Manhattan on the US East Coast.

Chief executive Karl-Petter Loken said the Nkr5 billion Hywind Tampen scheme, which would be the world’s first floating wind farm to power offshore facilities, “paves the way for more wind power farms both in Norway and internationally”.

“Today’s new contract is a very important step in Kvaerner’s strategy to grow within the renewables business, in addition to our existing business within oil and gas,” he added.

The contract is set to position the company for similar future awards in the wind market as state-controlled operator Equinor also expands into the development of offshore wind farms, both at home and overseas.

Kvaerner said it also aims to leverage expertise gained from the project to lower the carbon footprint for future concrete construction projects, given analysis has shown that hulls made of concrete have a favourable CO₂ footprint compared with other solutions.

Construction of the concrete hulls for the Hywind turbines will start immediately in a drydock at Kvaerner’s recently expanded Stord yard and they will then be floated to a site at Dommernes in Vindafjord for completion.

The wind turbines will then be installed atop the concrete hulls at Gulen just to the north before final installation at the offshore Tampen location, with project completion targeted for autumn 2022.

Kvaerner estimated the project will generate about 250 man-years of employment for its own workers and a total of 800 man-years including sub-suppliers.

The Hywind Tampen turbines will generate a total of 88 megawatts of electricity that will be used to replace about 35% of energy consumption on the Gullfaks A, B, and C, and Snorre A and B platforms, resulting in more than 200,000 tonnes per annum of reduced carbon dioxide emissions - equivalent to emissions from 100,000 cars.

Field Development

Hywind fuels Kvaerner renewables drive