Window of opportunity for Norwegian industry

Mainstream Renewable Power sees a great opportunity for the Norwegian offshore wind industry to gain a competitive edge as sustainability becomes a crucial factor in tendering requirements and leasing rounds for offshore wind.

– We very much appreciate sustainability criteria being a part of the competition for the offshore wind areas in Norway, says Karen Brinchmann, Environmental Impact Assessment Specialist in Mainstream and currently heading the team for concession and sustainability for Sørlige Nordsjø II.

Photo: Karen Brinchmann

Karen emphasizes that this is an essential part of building trust for a new industry as well as increasing the level of initiatives as everyone will be required to include sustainability, not ‘just’ the more responsible players in the industry.

– We strongly believe that this will help the Norwegian offshore wind industry to build a competitive advantage as sustainability is increasingly a part of tendering requirements and leasing rounds for offshore wind, she says.

– Getting ready for this from the start provides a window of opportunity for Norwegian industry.

In her opinion, this will include reuse, recycling, low emission vessels and materials, production processes, digitalization opportunities to increase safe jobs and knowledge-building through data, and environmentally-friendly solutions.

– We already have loads of knowledge from offshore activities in Norway, and there may be only small adjustments and learnings that make us ready to take our place in the rapidly growing offshore wind industry globally, she ends.

Karen Brinchmann will present Mainstream’s ambitious sustainability policy at our Ocean Innovation Lab near Bergen 25-26 May.

Register for Ocean Innovation Lab (limited seats available).

About Mainstream

Mainstream Renewable Power (“Mainstream”) is a leading pure-play renewable energy company with a presence across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Employing over 600 people across five continents, the company has a global portfolio of 20.6 GW. In May 2021, Norway-based Aker Horizons acquired a majority stake in Mainstream and, in April 2022, Japan-based Mitsui & Co., Ltd. joined Aker Horizons as a long-term strategic investor.

In addition to bringing forward industrial-scale onshore wind and solar projects around the world, they are advancing gigawatt-scale offshore wind projects in Vietnam, South Korea, Norway, Ireland, the UK, and Sweden. 4

The company’s growth trajectory and offshore wind ambition accelerated in 2022 with the integration of Aker Offshore Wind, combining world-class development and industrialization capabilities through the Aker group of companies with Mainstream’s strong development and execution track record.

Further to their ambition in the floating wind market, the company holds preferential rights to bankable floating foundation technology through ownership in Principle Power.

Mainstream is currently developing a net capacity of 1.3 GW of floating offshore wind in Scotland and South Korea and 1.23 GW of fixed bottom offshore wind in Vietnam.

Follow Mainstream on LinkedIn and Twitter.

For more information, visit www.mainstreamrp.com.