NOK 3.9 billion for two floating offshore wind projects

A total of four new floating offshore wind turbines will generate enough energy to match the annual consumption of around 15,000 households. Annual energy production will amount to 300 million kilowatt-hours. The aim is to test and demonstrate new technology that can reduce the cost of generating energy from floating offshore wind.

–  If they succeed in making offshore wind technology profitable enough, it will be a major step toward faster, large-scale deployment of renewable power. Both Norwegian industry and the transport sector need this to reduce their climate emissions, says Evy Glørstad, CEO of Enova.

To be built off Karmøy

Both projects plan to install two large offshore wind turbines each over the next five years at METCentre’s floating offshore wind demonstration site off Karmøy in Rogaland. Funding will be paid out if the projects are implemented, with NOK 2 billion going to Fortius Offshore Wind AS and NOK 1.94 billion to Fram Wind Solutions AS.

The companies will test and demonstrate new technologies, including floating foundations for large turbines, their mooring systems, and methods for constructing and operating the installations. These are among the key areas where costs must fall for floating offshore wind to become profitable.

Each floating offshore wind turbine to be installed has a capacity of 18.5 megawatts. For the four turbines combined, this corresponds to approximately 20 average onshore wind turbines.

The projects were selected for funding through a competitive process based on the amount of energy generated per krone of funding, the potential for wider adoption of the technology, their carbon footprint, their impact on biodiversity, and their prospects for achieving low costs in the future.

Norway has distinct advantages

The development of Norway's initiative in floating offshore wind is demanding pioneering work. Enova believes the potential for this award is great.

– Norway has particularly good prerequisites for developing floating offshore wind because we have a strong maritime industry and vast ocean areas with strong winds, says Oskar Gärdeman, Head of Offshore Wind at Enova.

Major international investment in offshore wind

According to a report prepared by Enova for the Ministry of Energy earlier this year, market participants estimate that a successful global rollout of floating offshore wind could bring energy generation costs down to as little as NOK 1 per kilowatt-hour. 

Significant international investment in floating offshore wind is under way, particularly in Europe and Asia. Both France and the United Kingdom are investing heavily in floating offshore wind, having launched major tenders and made areas available for development in recent years. This summer, France allocated EUR 63 billion, equivalent to NOK 655 billion, to the development of floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind over the next 25 years. The European Commission has identified floating offshore wind as an important part of Europe’s energy mix leading up to 2050.