On 17 June, the Norwegian government announced that 35 billion NOK would be allocated to the development of offshore wind in the Vestavind B and Vestavind F areas as part of the revised state budget for 2024.
The budget was agreed by the current ruling parties: the Norwegian Labour Party and the Norwegian Centre Party, together with the Norwegian Socialist Left Party.
“This is great news for offshore wind,” said NorthWind Director John Olav Tande. “Developing offshore wind will result in significant renewable power production, emissions cuts and opportunities for the Norwegian supplier industry. Without this kind of support, there is a risk that the entire offshore wind investment would come to a halt.”
This decision will also impact the Utsira Nord area, as part of that area overlaps with Vestavind F. Calls for applications for the development of floating wind in Utsira Nord are expected to open in 2025.
“During the development of Hywind Tampen, approximately 60% of the total contract sum went to Norwegian suppliers. I would imagine that the development of Utsira, and other floating wind projects in Norway, could get an equal or greater share of Norwegian deliveries. This will put Norwegian industry in the driver’s seat for offshore wind’s development, with considerable opportunities in the European and global market,” said Tande.
“The important thing now is that the support programme is specified as soon as possible, and should be reflected in the 2025 state budget.”
You can read the full news story on the NRK website (in Norwegian).
