Offshore wind: a Belgian-Swedish consortium wins the first concession in Norway

The joint company Ventyr was the best bidder to develop the Sørlige Nordsjø II field in the North Sea with a capacity of 1.500 MW.

The outcome of the auction which lasted two days is good news for Oslo as doubts hovered over the willingness of players in the sector to commit to this project at a time when offshore wind power is suffering from construction costs and high interest rates.

The Sørlige Nordsjø II field is also located in a deep water area far from the continent, in the immediate vicinity of the maritime border with Denmark.

Only four consortia appeared in the list of potential candidates after the withdrawal of seven other players who had initially expressed interest.

“The first offshore wind auctions are a success,” said Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland at a press conference.

In detail, Ventyr brings together Parkwind, owned by the Japanese Jera, and the investment branch of Ingka Group, the holding company which brings together most of the Ikea stores around the world.

“I hope they will start (development) as quickly as possible,” Mr. Aasland said.

The largest hydrocarbon producer in Western Europe, Norway, has set the official objective of allocating the equivalent of 30.000 MW to offshore wind power by 2040.