Norway to focus solely on floating wind

The Norwegian government has decided to switch its focus from fixed-bottom offshore wind to floating wind after scrapping the tender for the Sørvest F offshore wind area citing high grid costs.

Sørvest F was supposed to be up for bidding later this year. It is an extension of the Sørlige Nordsjø II won by a partnership between Parkwind and Ingka Investments in 2024.

However, the decision not to put the area up for tender was made after the transmission system operator Statnett conducted a study for possible solutions to connect a new wind farm in Sørvest F to the onshore grid.

Of the five possible solutions, four involved so-called hybrid concepts that connect the area to Norway and neighbouring countries while only one connects it solely to the mainland. It also revealed that hybrid solutions need the state’s backing and significant technological development before an interconnected grid can be done.

“We are currently facing high costs, both for offshore wind production and associated grid solutions. Statnett’s study shows that hybrid cables will not solve these challenges. Offshore wind production will need a lot of government support, regardless of which grid solution we choose. Therefore, we will prioritise floating projects,” said Terje Aasland, Norway’s minister of energy.

He added that he did not want to further expose the Norwegian power system to the challenges seen in Germany and other European countries.

The primary reason for prioritising floating offshore wind projects is the ability to connect them to the Norwegian mainland with single-point connections.