UNITECH Offshore New Owner of Hytech Demo Turbine

UNITECH Offshore signed a contract to acquire the Hywind Demo floating wind turbine outside Karmøy, Norway. The turbine belonged to Equinor (formerly known as Statoil) and is one of the first floating offshore wind turbines in the world. It will now be renamed and used  for research projects, development of new technology, teaching and training.

“When UNITECH Offshore takes over the ownership and operation of the turbine, it is with pride and expectations. The pioneering work that became this historic wind turbine will be transferred to a new phase and made available for research and technology development as part of the “Sustainable Energy Ocean Test Facility” and for the benefit of all those who are concerned with Sustainable Energy at sea,” says UNITECH CEO, Gunnar Birkeland. The new name will be 'UNITECH Zefyros by Hywind Technology'.

“We are pleased that UNITECH is now taking over the ownership and operation of the turbine. Hywind Demo has been very important for Equinor’s development of floating offshore wind since it came into operation 10 years ago. The fact that the turbine will continue to be used for innovation is also valuable for Equinor. Floating offshore wind will be a significant source of energy in the future and we will also test this in full-scale at our floating offshore wind farm in Scotland,” says Beate Myking, Director of Operations in New Energy Solutions at Equinor.

With UNITECH as the new owner, the turbine will supply electricity to Karmøy equivalent to 400 households each year for 10 more years.