Japanese shipping giant Mitsui buys into floating wind firm Odfjell Oceanwind
Japanese shipping giant Mitsui buys into floating wind firm Odfjell Oceanwind | Windpower Monthly
Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has bought into Odfjell Oceanwind to help the Norwegian engineering firm expand its floating wind ambitions.
Odfjell Oceanwind aims to support and partner with offshore wind developers using its technologies, and has already had its flagship floating platform earmarked for 50GW of projects due online before 2035.
Its Deepsea Star concept is a column-stabilised, semi-submersible steel design in which the turbine tower can be positioned centrally – rather than over one of the three columns – that the company claims will distribute load more evenly.
Odfjell Oceanwind would not confirm what stake Mitsui will own in the company when asked by Windpower Monthly. But the Norwegian firm stated that its oil and gas services company Odfjell Technology and the Odfjell family will remain its largest shareholders.
Odfjell Oceanwind CEO Per Lund said that Mitsui has “a rapidly increasing service portfolio relevant for floating offshore wind” and a “strong presence in the global market” that can help the wind company expand globally.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: wind
Decades of government support for the development of wind energy has resulted in lower costs and a rapidly growing share of electricity generated by wind turbines. Wind in 2019 accounted for 7.3 percent of electrical generation, surpassing for the first time hydropower at 7.0 percent.