Norway Opens Expansive Offshore Areas to Wind Development

The Norwegian government has announced the opening of more than 860,000 acres of the Norwegian Continental Shelf to offshore wind development.

The areas, known as “Utsira Nord” and “Sørlige Nordsjø II”, are located in Norwegian waters in the northern North Sea. Combined, the two areas allow for the development of 4,500 MW of wind power.

“Offshore wind power offers great opportunities for Norwegian businesses,” said Tina Bru, Minister for Petroleum and Energy. “In the immediate future the market will be in other countries, but if the costs for offshore wind power continues to fall it could also become competitive in Norway. It is now time to prepare for future development by allocating space for offshore renewables.”
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A proposal to open areas and a draft regulation were open for public comment in 2019.

The Utsira Nord is located to the west of Haugesund and is ideally suited for floating wind power. The area is also large, encompassing 1,010 square kilometres close to shore.

The Sørlige Nordsjø II borders the Danish sector in the North Sea and could be best suited for “direct export” of electricity. The area spans 2,591 square kilometres in mostly shallow water that would allow traditional wind turbines.

The Norwegian government has set an opening date of 1 January 2021.