Norway to fund "rotor wall" offshore wind farm concept demonstrator

The Norwegian Government, through its Enova project, has agreed to fund an optimistic new renewables concept, a floating structure embedded with numerous energy-generating rotors.

Designed to reduce maintenance costs and installed areas of offshore wind farms, the "wind catching" demonstrator will be installed northwest of Bergen, outside the municipality of Øygarden.

Unsurprisingly, it is a world first, and the project is scheduled to be completed during 2029.

Using 40 one-megawatt turbines, the project aims to demonstrate the performance and cost-effectiveness of this type of installation.

The project will thus have a total installed capacity of 40 MW and an annual energy production estimated at 99 GWh.

The project is being awarded support of 1.2 billion kroner (US$106 million) through Enova's competition for the support for small-scale commercial offshore wind projects.

"Floating offshore wind is an energy resource that has great potential, if it eventually becomes competitive with other energy sources," said Energy Minister Terje Aasland.

The government has declared its ambition to allocate land for 30 GW of offshore wind by 2040.