Norwegians call for licensing of two 500 MW floating wind projects in 2020

Several Norwegian ocean stakeholders have asked their country’s government to start the announcement of two full-scale floating offshore wind farms with the aim of granting licenses during 2020.

In a letter sent to leading Norwegian politicians, the stakeholders said that the government should clarify licensing and framework conditions for two floating wind projects with a capacity of at least 500 MW each by the summer of 2020.

This would be a natural continuation of a policy that has so far supported the development of the Hywind Tampen project, as well as proposals for the opening of the Utsira North and Southern North Sea II areas for offshore wind, the letter said.

The announcement must cover the entire value chain, the group said, so that the industry is invited to develop full-scale floating offshore wind projects that deal with both electricity generation and renewable electricity use.

The stakeholders have also proposed the establishment of a sectoral agreement between the offshore wind industry and the authorities similar to the UK’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

”It usually takes 4-7 years from plans being developed to an offshore wind farm being built,” the letter said.

”If Norway is to have industrial aspirations within floating offshore wind, we must think big now. Starting two full-scale floating offshore wind farms, with associated value chains, can be an important start. Today, Norway is well positioned in terms of technology development within floating offshore wind.”

The letter is signed by the representatives of Norges Rederiforbund, Norsk Industri, Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster, SINTEF, NTNU Energi, Bergen Offshore Wind Center, and Norsk klimastiftelse.