Norway’s Ministry of Energy has approved Goliatvind’s proposed environmental impact assessment (EIA) programme for its 75MW floating wind pilot.
In a few weeks, the offshore wind developer will submit its licence application.
The floating demonstrator is planned with five 15MW machines, located on Odfjell Oceanwind’s Deepsea Star semi-submersible floating foundation with the turbine located in the centre of the foundation.
The plant is planned to be built in 2028/2029, ahead of larger floating offshore wind developments in Norway.
“As a demonstration plant, GoliatVIND will help establish Norwegian supplier capacity and reduce the technical risk of floating offshore wind in Norway,” said chief executive of Source Galileo Norge and chair of Goliatvind Gunnar Birkeland.
“This will result in reduced risks and lower costs for the development of floating offshore wind projects in Norway, initially for the planned projects in the areas called Utsira Nord and Vestavind B.”
Goliatvind is backed by Odfjell Oceanwind, Source Galileo, Kansai Electric Power and Eneos Renewable Energy.
“In light of the postponement of Utsira Nord, and the fact that other countries also have upcoming projects in the near future, Goliatvind represents a key project to secure Norway’s position in floating offshore wind,” said Birkeland.
On 29 November last year, Goliatvind submitted a proposal for an EIA programme for Goliatvind – a floating offshore wind scheme outside Hammerfest in Norway.
The proposal was circulated for consultation by the Ministry of Energy with a deadline of 31 January 2024.
A total of 31 consultation responses were received and published on the Ministry of Energy’s website. The proposed EIA programme has now been processed and approved by the Ministry of Energy.
To maintain progress, the project began work on the EIA in September 2023, in parallel with the Ministry of Energy’s consideration of the programme.