Building the first large-scale floating offshore wind park in Norway

Norway’s ambition is to allocate areas for 30,000 MW offshore wind production by 2040. On 29 March 2023, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in Norway announced a competition for a project area for floating offshore wind in Utsira Nord.

The UtsiraVIND consortium of Source Galileo Norge, Odfjell Oceanwind, Kansai Electric Power and Ingka Group, will use Odfjell Oceanwind’s proprietary solutions and suppliers for cost-competitive, industrial production of floating offshore wind parks.

The deadline for submitting applications is 1 September 2023. Expected allocation of project areas is December 2023.

A floating offshore wind park at Utsira Nord could be Norway's next project of size to promote the industrialization of floating offshore wind and create opportunities for Norwegian offshore industry.

Location

The Utsira Nord area is 1,010 square kilometres and is located 25 kilometres off the coast of Rogaland, Norway. The nearest settlement is on the island of Utsira, approximately 6.5 kilometres east of the field. The area has a water depth of up to 280 metres, and is therefore particularly suitable for floating offshore wind.

Capacity

The Norwegian ministry divides the Utsira Nord area into three project areas. Installed power in each project area must be a minimum of 460 MW and a maximum of 500 MW, with a potential extension of 250 MW for each area.

Each of the areas will be able to produce around 2 TWh of electricity each year. This corresponds to the annual consumption of approximately 120,000 households.

Renewable production of 2 TWh of electricity per year will be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 million tonnes per year.