Norway to shift focus to floating wind projects

Norway has made a new move to prioritize floating offshore wind projects, side-lining plans for hybrid fixed-bottom wind farms in the Sørvest F area.

The decision comes after a recent study by transmission operator Statnett revealed that hybrid cable solutions linking offshore wind farms to both the Norwegian grid and neighbouring countries would fail to address the sky-high costs of these initiatives.

Energy Minister Terje Aasland emphasised that offshore wind production, regardless of the grid solution, would still require substantial government support. Floating wind technology, with its potential to harness energy across Norway's vast coastlines, is now seen as the country's best path forward.

With floating wind projects expected to be more viable in the future, the government is already planning new tenders and is eager to leverage its decades of expertise in oil and gas to push this innovative energy source forward. For now, it remains to be seen how soon the new projects will be realised and how effective they will be.