The areas include both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind areas. Each identified area will require further assessment through a strategic impact assessment to determine its feasibility and sustainability.
The project’s goal was to identify areas that could enable the development of more than 30 GW of energy, translating to more than 3,000 turbines of the same size at the Hywind Tampen turbines.
According to Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Terje Aasland, the NVE’s identification of 20 potential offshore wind development areas demonstrates that the Norwegian target of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2040 is achievable. Aasland also stated that the timeline set by the Norwegian government for achieving this goal is well-aligned with the ongoing assessment process.
The project did not evaluate the economic viability of developing offshore wind in Norway but instead focused on identifying areas with the least conflicting interests.
Offshore wind development in Norway, including floating offshore wind, is currently not profitable, and large investments will be needed in both offshore and onshore infrastructure for several of the identified areas.
