Offshore wind
Illustration of offshore wind.
The Norwegian Government has great ambitions for developing offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf. Acreage for 30 000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind generation will be awarded by 2024. No acreage has yet been awarded.
The first project areas for offshore wind at Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II were announced in 2023. On 21 March 2024, the authorities conducted an auction to award a project area for offshore wind in Sørlige Nordsjø II.
Ventyr SN II AS won the auction and will be awarded a project area and thereby a time-limited exclusive right to conduct a project-specific impact assessment, and to apply for a licence pursuant to the Offshore Energy Act.
The first areas on the Norwegian shelf were opened for offshore renewable energy generation in 2020. Since then, the authorities have worked to establish the regulations in close cooperation with the private sector and other users of the sea.
In the spring 2022, the Ministry of Energy tasked the Norwegian Offshore Directorate with planning and implementing a tender process for conducting pilot surveys on Sørlige Nordsjø II and on Utsira Nord, with possible start-up in 2022.
The first phase of the survey in Sørlige Nordsjø II (eastern part) started in autumn 2022 and was completed in 2023.
The survey on Utsira Nord started in summer 2023. As of today, the northern area is complete, while the southern area is nearly complete. Survey efforts have barely started in the central area. The plan is for the survey on Utsira Nord to be completed in spring 2024.
Updated: 03/04/2024