So reads the top of the Agder offshore wind industry’s wish list for 2025.
“For the development of the Norwegian offshore wind industry, it is extremely important that more projects are made available. We need a steady pipeline of projects to reach an industry scale level for our home market,” says Knut Mjåland, incoming Head of Fremtidens Havvind, a regional collaboration project for offshore wind.
Rune Klausen, CEO of the National Compe- tence Center for Offshore Wind, agrees.
“The most important thing that could happen in 2025, is the announcement of more acreage for offshore wind development projects. The industry needs the government to create a sense of predictability for further industry development, regardless of which political parties are running the country,” says Klausen.
The first Norwegian floating offshore wind project, Utsira Nord, is scheduled to be announced in the first half of 2025, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) recently recommended expansions of Sørlige Nordsjø and the opening of other areas. This could build a timeline with continuous announcements of more offshore wind auctions.
So far, Ventyr is the only company with a large-scale offshore wind license, after winning the bid for Sørlige Nordsjø II earlier this year.
“Ventyr, and its operating company Parkwind, has defined Agder as ‘the home region’ for Sørlige Nordsjø II. We intend to follow this up and seize the opportunities it presents for our region,” says Mjåland.
BUSY YEAR FOR PARKWIND
For Parkwind, 2025 will be a busy year with ongoing impact assessment programs both onshore and offshore, and narrowing down alternative cable routes onshore, according to Anne Knausgård, Country Manager for Parkwind.
“We will stay in close dialogue with the Ministry of Energy, NVE, Statnett and Havtil, and we will implement a Supplier Day in Kristiansand during the North Sea Wind Conference in Kristiansand in June,” says Knausgård.
Two of the companies that have built relations with Ventyr are Windport in Mandal and Southwind in Kristiansand.
At Windport, CEO Turid Storhaug has already performed some initial tasks for Ventyr and hopes to see more
business in the early development phase.
“While we wait for more work in our home market, we continue to pursue options in the North Sea Basin, where there is a high level of activity. We are also awaiting a stronger commitment and a comprehensive plan from the Norwegian government,” says Storhaug.
Southwind is also determined to expand on their relationship with Ventyr for the Sørlige Nordsjø II initial phase.
“We are also in continuous dialogue with potential bidding consortiums for the upcoming 2025 auction round, promoting Kristiansand and Kongsgård Havn as the most sustainable and suitable location serving Sørlige Nordsjø II specifically, and the North Sea in general. We look forward to 2025 with anticipation, and hope to see a successful auction held,” says Jonas Kvåle, Managing Director at Southwind.
