Norwegian energy minister Terje Soeviknes will have meeting with companies on Wednesday, June 20, with the target to explore the possibility of constructing offshore floating wind farms.
Norway is planning to adopt such projects, and in upcoming meeting, the parties will discuss the opening process and the regulatory framework that are need, Reuters reported.
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Mr. Soeviknes did not make any more clarifications regarding the companies that will participate in the meeting. But, Equinor (former Statoil) is planning to focus in renewable energy. For this reason, it will take part in Norway’s first such tender if there are subsidies. As it had informed during May, Equinor expects a 13 gigawatt floating offshore wind to be built by 2030 and aims to take a share in that project.
Terje Soeviknes wants to finalize the discussions within a few months. Namely, he stated that he is hoping to have proposal by autumn, and it is possible that this will have to go through the parliament first.
The difference between offshore wind turbines and floating wind parks, is that the latter are probably more feasible for use in deeper waters.
Norway is currently western Europe’s top producer of oil and natural gas, but it is still far behind Denmark and Sweden in wind power developments.