Norway’s Government announced its ambition and plans for an expansion in offshore wind energy, setting a target for 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2040.
According to a Government statement, this would approximately double Norway’s power output, since the country believes that developing offshore wind can allow it build on the know-how of its existing energy industries.
A significant portion of the electricity will be exported to other countries
…the government said in a statement.
Up until this moment, Norway has opened two North Sea areas for development of up to 4.5 GW of bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind, with a first tender for 1.5 GW expected later this year.
It comes as no surprise that some Norwegian companies, including Equinor, Shell, bp, Orsted and Eni, welcomed the news and the fact that regular licensing rounds, which are to be simplified, will be held from 2025. Nevertheless, Norway needs more power for domestic consumption, but the new plan exceeds the expected demand from households and industry.
As informed, grid connections would be considered on a case by case basis and could feature hybrid cables, which connect to several markets at the same time, or direct cables to single destinations, so-called radial cables, to Europe and Norway. Industry executives, labour unions and some opposition parties had also called for a longer-term target to help provide predictability for supply chain investments in Norway.
The domestic energy industry, which had criticised the government for moving too slowly, welcomed the government’s ambition.
This will lay the foundation for industrial ocean wind development
…the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said in a statement.
