Ventyr SN II AS won the auction for the allocation of a project area for offshore wind in Sørlige Nordsjø II

‘This is a very good day. This government has worked to realise offshore wind in Norway since day one, and today we have carried out the first successful auction. Norway has ocean areas with rich wind recourses, and a supply industry with world-leading technology expertise. We will build on this fundament in the coming years by announcing new areas and new auctions’, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. 

‘This is a milestone in the government’s offshore wind ambition, and today we have taken a big step forward in the work to develop offshore wind in Norway’, said Minister of Energy Terje Aasland. 

The government has an ambition to award areas that has potential for 30,000 MW of offshore wind production by 2040. Offshore wind has been given high priority ever since the government took over. The offshore wind ambition is important for multiple reasons:

• Norway gets increased access to renewable energy.
  
  
• We have an increased opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  
• We contribute to competence- and technology development.
  
  
• We are setting the stage for what could become a new industrial era for the Norwegian supplier industry.

In February, a total of five applicants qualified for the offshore wind auction for Sørlige Nordsjø II. These had documented that they meet the minimum criteria for sustainability and positive ripple effects, in addition to the pre-qualification criterion of implementation ability.

In the auction that started Monday 18 March, the qualified actors could compete for state aid. According to the Ocean Energy Act there must be a competition for the project areas, and as a main rule an auction must be carried out. The auction helps ensure that as little state aid as possible is provided.

What happens now?

Within four weeks, a contract for difference must be signed between the state and the consortium. The contract for difference will regulate the payment of state aid. The winner is awarded a project area and thus a time-limited exclusive right to carry out a project-specific impact assessment, and to apply for a license under the Ocean Energy Act.

The Storting has decided that the upper limit for support from the state is NOK 23 billion.

Background on the government's offshore wind initative:

The government has an ambition to award areas that has potential for 30,000 MW of offshore wind production by 2040. In 2020, the first areas on the Norwegian continental shelf were opened for offshore renewable energy production, and the authorities have since worked to further develop the regulatory framework in close cooperation with the industry and other users of the sea.