Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has unveiled plans to build 30GW of offshore wind off Norway’s coast by 2040.
The government said the ambition is that almost as much new power will be produced from offshore wind as is produced in total in Norway today.
It aims to carry out the next round of awarding licenses for offshore wind in 2025, following on from the first two zones that have already been announced at Utsira North and Sorlige Nordsjo 2.
The government is planning a step-by-step allocation of land with a goal to open a total area of about five to six times that of Sorlige Nordsjo 2 or approximately 1% of Norwegian sea areas.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) will also consider how the country can streamline license processing by assessing the license and approval of the detailed plan as a whole.
Gahr Store (pictured) said: “With this ambition, we go from the two offshore wind turbines that are in operation today to about 1500 offshore wind turbines. The construction will take place over the next 20 years.”
“This is a green industrial boost in Norway and can provide abundant amounts of renewable energy in the future.
“The goal of the development is to give people and companies large amounts of reasonable power.
“If we are to achieve that, we have to invest now. And we must invest on a large scale.”
The government will facilitate a large-scale offshore wind development that allows for the use of various grid solutions.
Cables with two-way power flow, radials to Europe and radials to Norway will be considered for each call.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and the MPE will study the consequences of the alternatives.
The government noted that the Norwegian power grid will not be able to handle 30GW of offshore wind and so a prerequisite is that significant parts of the power produced will go to other countries.
It added that increased offshore wind production can also help cover power needs in the petroleum business.
The government will therefore consider how the petroleum industry can best contribute, so that the investment in offshore wind also facilitates electrification of the shelf.
The government said that when choosing an offshore grid solution that involves connection to the Norwegian power system, the technical design of the plant must ensure national interests, including security of supply and reasonable electricity prices for households, industry and business.
Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said: “The goal is to give people and companies large amounts of affordable power, which can create jobs across the country.
“We are concerned with securing grid solutions that ensure more power to Norway and that provide good grid solutions for offshore wind investments.
“This investment is also the answer to electrifying the Norwegian continental shelf. We will also study how a future ground rent tax on offshore wind can be set up, to ensure that a larger share of the profits in the industry is brought in to the community.”