Karmøy Test Site
About
The Karmøy test area has a proud history as a pioneering site for floating offshore wind, with continuous operation since 2009.
The site was carefully selected for its excellent wind resources, flat seabed, close proximity to shore and established maritime service providers.
Located approximately 10 kilometers offshore from the west coast of Karmøy island — between Bergen and Stavanger — the site is easily accessible by a 20-minute vessel ride from shore.
Infrastructure in operation
Today, the Karmøy site has 6 MW of floating offshore wind in operation.
- Zephyros (formerly known as Hywind Demo)
- TetraSpar Demonstrator
Both turbines are connected to the onshore grid via a 22 kV subsea cable, providing real-world power export and performance monitoring.
Concession
The Karmøy test area holds the only concessions for offshore energy production under Norway’s new Ocean Energy Act.
The site allows for a maximum installed capacity of up to 82,7 MW of power production units.
More information about the concession is to be found on The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) 's web page.
Key information
- Power production capacity
- 82,7 MW
- Distance from shore
- 10 km
- Water depth
- 195-220 meters
- Waves (Hs)
- 1,78 meters
- Wind speed average (100 meters hub height)
- 9,7 m/s
- Grid Connection Infrastructure
- 22 kV / 15 MW