Opening Areas in Norway for Offshore Wind

The Norwegian government has opened two areas for offshore wind in Norway. This is a huge opportunity for members and partners in GCE Ocean Technology to position themselves in the Norwegian supply chain within offshore renewables.

Last week, the Norwegian government officially announced that they will open two North Sea areas for the construction of floating offshore wind parks in Norway, Utsira North and Southern North Sea II.

The decision, will give the Norwegian supply chain industry the required home market where further knowledge and experiences will be built. This will in turn, strengthen and develop the Norwegian supply chain in the international offshore renewable sector.

Read press release.

Supply Chain Opportunities

Based upon almost 50 years of experience from the oil and gas industry; the Norwegian supply chain is in a great position to take a leading role in offshore renewables, and floating wind in particular.

This applies from structures, instrumentation, cables, seabed surveys and infrastructure to marine operations, inspections, surveillance and maintenance.

Members and partners of GCE Ocean Technology that operate within these areas will now have a huge opportunity to position themselves in the Norwegian offshore renewable supply chain.

– Offshore wind power offers great opportunities for Norwegian businesses. In the immediate future the markets will be in other countries, but if the costs for offshore wind power continues to drop it could also become competitive in Norway. It is time to prepare for the future development by allocating space for offshore renewables, says Tina Bru, Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

– The world will need more renewable energy in the future. The world-leading offshore industry in Norway can be at the forefront of developing the technology that makes it possible to reach the Norwegian, as well as the global climate targets. By investing in offshore wind, we can both create new jobs for the future and reduce emissions, says Minister of Climate and Environment, Sveinung Rotevatn.

These areas are now available for applications for offshore renewables:

• Utsira North is located west of Haugesund, and is suitable for floating wind power, which is the most interesting technology from a Norwegian perspective. The area is also large, 1010 square kilometres, close to shore and provides opportunities for demonstration projects and larger projects. Utsira North's size provides room for adapting to other interests in the licensing process. The ministry proposes to open this area to facilitate the development of such technology.
• Southern North Sea II borders the Danish sector in the North Sea and is relevant for direct export of electricity. The area is 2591 square kilometres, has depths which makes it possible to develop bottom-fixed wind power here, but floating solutions could also be relevant.

Areas Open from 2021

The areas will open 1 January 2021, and limits have been set regarding the amount of wind power that can be developed in the areas.

– Combined, the two areas allow for the development of 4 500 MW of wind power, something that provides rich opportunities for development. At the same time, we place important limitations on the activity to safeguard other activities and the environment, says the Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

The King of Norway also adopted by royal decree, a regulation which supplements the ocean energy act and clarifies the licensing process.

Photo by NVE. Text in dark blue added by GCE Ocean Technology

Huge Potential for Offshore Wind on the NCS

In November 2019, Wind Europe released a report with European offshore wind ambitions until 2050.

Their ambition for the Norwegian Continental Shelf is as much as 30 GW installed energy. This equals the total global offshore wind capacity installed per Q1 2020.

These two new areas have a limitation of up to 4,5 GW, but it will be a starting foundation for the further development of the offshore renewable energy industry.