Japanese utility Kansai and IKEA owner Ingka Investments have joined Odfjell Oceanwind and Source Galileo in the UtsiraVIND consortium to develop offshore wind in Norway.
Both Kansai and Ingka Investments are major global investors in renewable energy and European offshore wind.
This expanded consortium will be bidding into the Utsira Nord floating offshore wind tender process in September 2023.
Augusta & Co is led the consortium formation process on behalf of its client Source Galileo.
Kevin Lynch, CEO of Source Galileo, said: “Augusta has done an outstanding job in identifying the ideal consortium partners to make UtsiraVIND an even more compelling proposition.
“They managed a complex consortium building process to align four parties with a very well-balanced governance and funding framework.”
Driven by the shared vision of a greener energy future, the consortium brings together proprietary technology in floating structures, electrical engineering, financial strength, and extensive offshore wind experience, it said.
By pooling their knowledge and strengths, they seek to make a relevant contribution to develop new offshore wind farms in Norway and also to make Norwegian floating wind a globally cost-competitive energy supply solution, the consortium added.
The partnership will now seek to progress their bid in the upcoming Utsira tender process to develop, build and operate a floating wind park on Utsira Nord using Odfjell Oceanwind’s proprietary floating wind solutions.
The Utsira Nord seabed lies 32km offshore in the North Sea where floating wind turbines in water depths of 180m to 280m are foreseen to be developed in the first round for a total capacity of 1.5GW.
Gunnar Birkeland, chief executive of Source Galileo’s Norwegian business, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with such esteemed partners who share our passion for renewable energy.
“This collaboration allows us to leverage our respective strengths to deliver UtsiraVIND and put Norway at the forefront of floating offshore wind globally.”