Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
Although the Norwegian economy still relies heavily on oil and gas production and sale, the government has decided to go ahead with promoting renewable power production. Norway to invest in floating offshore windfarms to move away from oil and gas use
Having scrapped previous plans for wind farms, the Ministry of Energy announced on Monday May 19 that it is encouraging bids in a competition to create three separate projects for floating offshore windfarms in the sea off the island of Utsira.
The island is one of Norway’s smallest municipalities with a population of around 200 people and is situated around 18 kilometers from the west cost of the Norwegian mainland and this new project, if construction goes ahead, will see a positive expansion of the local economy.
According to Energy Minister Terje Aasland, this decision marks an important step forward for the government’s offshore wind investment plans and will become an important supplier of cleaner energy once online.
Applications to supply the wind farms must be presented by September 15 and decisions will be made based on cost, construction date, feasibility, sustainability and innovation.
It is quite possible that the production of each facility will be allocated to a different company, depending upon the quality of bids and the expected completion dates and once a decision has been made to allocate the contracts, there will be a ‘cooling off’ period whereby the ministry and successful applicant/s can each review their positions.
Norway to invest in floating offshore windfarms at an expected cost of €3 billion
A maximum budget of NOK 35 billion (€3 billion approximately) of State Aid has been set by the Norwegian Parliament and if more than one applicant has been short listed for any area, then an auction may be required, subject to the operator having submitted a license application and provided a bank guarantee for participation in the auction.
Awards of final contracts are expected to be made during the first half of 2026 although no estimate of when the completion of the three offshore windfarms is currently available.