“It is important and useful for us to meet the supplier industry in Agder,” said Daniel Rogstad, Head of Offshore Wind Business Development Norway at Equinor.
At meetings in Lyngdal and Kristiansand, Rogstad and Equinor met with current and potential offshore wind suppliers in preparation for the first Norwegian offshore wind licensing round, expected to take place next year. Equinor and partners Hydro and RWE will be bidding on a license to develop a wind farm at Sørlige Nordsjø II, south of the Agder region.
The winning consortium for this license is likely to use Agder as a base for operations, which is why several MOUs have already been signed with companies and port facilities in the region.
“Norwegian suppliers have proven to be innovative, competitive and to deliver with high quality and precision. We intend to continue our collaboration with the Norwegian supplier industry to further mature and develop new and efficient solutions,” said Rogstad.
10 GW by 2035
Equinor’s long-term plan is to operate 10 GW offshore wind power capacity in Norway by 2035. The first floating wind farm, Hywind Tampen, is set to become operational later this year, while Sørlige Nordsjø II, Utsira Nord and Equinor’s own initiative Trollvind must be given licenses or approvals to be built.
Arnt Abrahamsen, Mayor of Farsund, was glad to see Equinor stop by.
“This provides us with an opportunity to present the region and its suppliers. It is important to make Equinor aware of the high-quality suppliers that this region has to offer,” said Abrahamsen.
PREPARED FOR OFFSHORE WIND ACTIVITIES
Abrahamsen talked about the vast areas that both Farsund and Lyngdal have prepared for offshore wind activities. These areas, Lundevågen in Farsund and Hausvik in Lyngdal, are branded as SoWe, short for South-West Norway.
“SoWe offers fully regulated industrial areas close to deep seaports with well-developed infrastructure. This should be highly attractive for the offshore wind industry,” said Abrahamsen.
Following the meeting in Lyngdal, Equinor travelled to Kristiansand to meet a packed house of suppliers and business leaders at the Kristiansand Chamber of Commerce.
