Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway — The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has opened the competitive bid process for two designated offshore wind areas in the North Sea, Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord.
This is the first step in the government’s plans to allocate areas for offshore wind that could generate 30,000 MW of power by 2040, almost equivalent to the country’s total power production in 2022.
“We are looking forward to receiving many good applications from relevant developers, so that we can allocate the project areas later this year,” said Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland.
The government plans a further announcement of offshore wind areas in 2025.
“Norway has good traditions for developing the continental shelf step by step, and we will follow this method also for our offshore wind development,” Aasland added.
The application deadline for Sørlige Nordsjø II is Aug. 4, 2023, and for Utsira Nord Sept. 1, 2023.
For the prequalification process, applicants must demonstrate satisfactory technical competence, financial strength, compliance with relevant HSE requirements, sustainability and positive local ripple effects from their proposal.
Prequalified applicants will then have the opportunity to be one of a shortlist of up to eight allowed to participate in the subsequent auction.
Sørlige Nordsjø II is in the southern Norwegian North Sea, 140 km offshore and close to the Danish median line, in water depths of 53 m to 70 m. So potentially it could suit floating offshore as well as bottom-fixed wind turbines.
Production of 1,500-MW renewable power at Utsira Nord offshore Haugesund, western Norway, will be awarded to three applicants by the end of this year (500 MW each), based on criteria that will include the facility for innovation and technology development in floating offshore wind.
03.29.2023
