Costs and intermittency challenges hinder wind power role in North Sea oil electrification

The UK took a big step towards the electrification of offshore oil and gas platforms on Friday with Scotland’s selection of 13 projects under its pioneering INTOG scheme for deployment of large-scale wind power to the sector, but industry bodies are wary of technical and cost challenges.

A lack of grid connections in remote parts of the harsh North Sea environment makes offshore wind the obvious route for complying with a mandate on reducing emissions from offshore operations, but issues such as costs and the intermittency of wind supply also have to be tackled, the leading trade association points out.