Scottish Minister Alex Salmond met with Statoil representatives, during his ongoing visit to Norway, to discuss the possibility of developing the world's first commercial flaoting wind farm in Scotland. Statoil has already showed us the concept is feasible with its Hywind project, located off the coast of Norway, floating over the seabed 200 meters below.

The new floating wind farm, Hywind II, could be developed in Scottish waters, which have been proven to have abundant wind energy resources. Moving wind generators further offshore will improve their energy yield, since offshore winds are much stronger. According to the Scottish Minister, things are looking positive for this and other offshore projects:

Today's meeting with Statoil was very positive, building on Scottish Development International's ongoing engagement with the company. This is exciting technology and I was extremely interested to hear more about the ongoing success of Hywind, and about Statoil's future plans for the project

The Hywind II project is seen as a pioneering feat, pushing the limit of current offshore wind energy projects well beyond the 100 meter depth limit.

[source: Scottish Government]