– Can provide a lower electricity price – VG

STAVANGER (VG/E24) They have developed a floating power plant with CO2 capture and storage, which they believe can mean that the platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf do not need to obtain electricity from land.

There is a strong climate battle going on in Norway, where most parties believe that we must electrify the platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf with electricity from land, in order to be able to reach the climate targets.

– We can offer a method already from 2026-2027, with mobile power plants, which can capture the CO₂ that is currently released from the platforms, says project manager Erling Ronglan.

Together with Sevan, Siemens Energy, Pier and Kanfa, they have joined together in the Blå Strøm group, which will develop the new power-producing units.

– Perfect

Bellona manager Frederic Hauge met them at the oil fair in Stavanger. He vouches for the potential.

– When I became aware of this project, I thought that it fits perfectly into what we have been fighting for for many years. This is the only way to both achieve the climate goals without incurring huge quota costs, and increase access to power on land, says Hauge:

– The country’s politicians can drop the plans for electrification, by obtaining electricity from land to clean the production on the platforms. Instead, it can happen through mobile power plants out in the sea, he says.

Ronglan believes that it will be able to contribute to lower electricity prices for Norwegian consumers.

– With the electricity prices we see today in Norway and the demand for electricity that will probably be there for many years to come, our solution will largely mean that you do not need to source electricity from shore to electrify the installations on the Norwegian continental shelf. When more electricity is left in Norway, it will result in lower electricity prices on land, says Ronglan.

Does not need power from shore

Electrification today takes place through cables carrying electricity from land to the platforms. It provides clean production. For many years, production has taken place via polluting gas power plants, which contribute to large CO₂ emissions.

– We also electrify, but we do not use electricity from shore. We will build a liquid gas power unit that produces electricity for the surrounding platforms and that captures CO₂ and injects it into the ground, says Frank Hopen in Sevan SSP.

Ronglan says the idea was developed already in 2007 in Sevan. The market and good enough technology weren’t there then, but it is now.

– We have a solution and we have the companies that can build it. We have mapped the need and spoken to many of the operators on the Norwegian continental shelf.

– What does that mapping show?

– We need to build five to six units to cover the entire coast. The 6th applies to the Barents Sea and it may be a little further ahead.

Better than the policy target

– How many installations are already electrified?

– Teknisk Ukeblad’s overview shows that it is 11.

– How much of today’s total CO2 emissions can you clean out there in the sea?

– This is about 65 per cent of the remaining CO2 emissions, but eventually we hope to be able to increase this further. The politicians’ target is a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, so when we can get this to stand in 2026-2027, they can reach that target by a good margin.

Hauge says that it is very good that the authorities are now investing in offshore wind, which will provide electricity for the installations, instead of getting the power from land, but that offshore wind has come up too short.

– It is not realistic that offshore wind will contribute to electrification until the 2030s. It is too late. That’s why I think this project is so exciting.

Will take over the Sverdrup field

Business developer Tom Johansen says that this project will be able to work very well, together with wind power.

– Offshore wind is unstable, spring is stable and can act as balance and reserve power.

He says that they can also provide power to the 11 installations that are already electrified with electricity from shore.

– For example, the Johan-Sverdrup field, which uses 300 megawatts of power from land, receives power from such a unit.

– Exciting

Equinor CEO Anders Opedal is happy for everyone who contributes technology that can contribute to the green shift.

– We look at all the technology that comes. We must reduce emissions from the production of oil and gas. We do this through energy efficiency, which has contributed to a 20 per cent cut, but 60 per cent must come from electrification, so new solutions are exciting.

Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland says the following:

– It is important that we manage to cut emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. As long as the government sticks to these targets, we now see that several different ideas are coming up that can contribute to reduced emissions. Coming up with several different ideas is important.