Norway has approved both of the initial applications received in its first commercial floating offshore wind tender, paving the way for the two consortia to refine plans and participate in a later subsidy auction, the energy ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry received two applications by a September deadline, one from a group consisting of Equinor and Eni’s Vaargronn and one from Deep Wind Offshore Norway and EDF Renewables.
Both groups fulfilled the criteria to participate and have each been allocated an area at the Utsira Nord site off Norway’s south-west coast to mature their respective projects of up to 500 megawatts, the ministry said.
"These projects will contribute to developing floating offshore wind technology and increasing renewable power generation in south-west Norway," Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.
The consortia now have two years to work on the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies of up to NOK35 billion ($3.45 billion) to be allocated to a single winner, with the money going to the lowest bidder.
Floating wind turbines are deemed particularly suitable for greater water depths where fixing the foundation into the seabed is not possible, but it is still an immature and expensive technology.
Utsira Nord could have accommodated three projects, but initial interest dissipated in line with wider global headwinds for offshore wind and as strict criteria ruled out some potential bidders.
Norway awarded a first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm licence in 2024, and the government plans to announce further tenders in 2026 as part of its target of allocating areas for a total of 30 GW of offshore wind development by 2040.
(Reporting by Nora Buli and Terje Solsvik. Editing by Essi Lehto and Mark Potter)
