TotalEnergies launches “pioneering” decarbonization plan to power Culzean platform offshore UK with floating wind energy
(WO) – TotalEnergies has launched a pilot project consisting of a floating wind turbine to supply renewable power to Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea, thus pioneering an innovative decarbonization scheme.
The 3 MW floating wind turbine will be located 2 km west of the Culzean platform, 220 km offshore Scotland. This turbine, expected to be fully operational by end 2025, will supply around 20% of Culzean’s power requirement, thereby reducing its GHG emissions. The turbine will be installed on a modular, light semi-submersible floater hull designed by Ocergy, allowing for fast assembly and optimized costs.
“This innovative pilot project aims at proving the concept of hybridization 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”, said Marie-Noelle Semeria, Chief Technology Officer at TotalEnergies.
This pilot project was selected in Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round, designed to encourage and support the use of offshore wind energy to directly supply offshore oil & gas platforms.
TotalEnergies has been present in the UK for more than 60 years, employing more than 1,800 people across the energy value chain. As one of the country’s leading oil and gas operators, the company operates around 30% of the UK Continental Shelf’s gas production, with average daily production of 142,000 boed in 2023 in company share.
TotalEnergies is deploying its Integrated Power strategy in the UK, which combines renewable power production and flexible power generation capacities. Its renewable portfolio in the county includes 1.1 GW of gross installed capacity (Seagreen offshore wind farm) and 4.5 GW under development. It was complemented in 2024 by the acquisition of gas-fired power plants (CCGT), with total output of 1.3 GW.
