Norwegian Prime Minister Revises Offshore Wind Ambitions

Norway may see its first commercial scale offshore wind farm coming up in coming years as Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has declared that Norway will be allocating 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2040. The announcement means that Norway will be producing wind energy equal to actual energy consumption by Norway in the present day.

Other North European countries are already bullish on the offshore wind projects. Norway has identified two offshore spaces for the wind farm construction. An auction of 1.5 GW of floating wind farms might take place in 2023.

The country will now begin to identify other offshore zones and ease the permitting procedures. The government has said that it will also involve the fishing industry and local communities in the wind development project. On one hand, Norway will evaluate the impact of operational wind farms on the fishing and maritime industry and on the other, is mulling to explore a feasible ground tax on the profits made through the wind energy projects to invest in the local communities.

As per the plan, Norway will have both bottom fixed and floating types of wind farms created through step by step allocation. The government has said that it will begin the offshore licensing round in 2025.

Policy clarity on licensing and auction tenets is crucial for the success of any renewable energy project and Norway currently lacks in both. According to experts, challenges and ambiguities are also galore that has kept the investors a little skeptic about Norway. There is no clear capacity demarcation between bottom-fixed and floating projects. The government is yet to come up with a precise wind energy expansion target for 2030 and licensing/auction schedule for the next decade.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), out of total energy supplies in Norway, Renewables account for 44 per cent. It has the highest share of electricity coming from renewables in Europe. Out of its total renewable capacity, 89 per cent comes from hydropower and marine sources. There is no meaningful solar installation and wind energy generation stands at mere 11 per cent.