Announces tender for Utsira Nord

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy is announcing a competition for three project areas for floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord.

Press Release | Date: 19 May 2025
Translated by ChatGPT

The project will enable increased renewable energy production, technology development, and create new growth opportunities for the supplier industry.

The application deadline is 15 September.

“This marks an important step forward in the government’s offshore wind initiative. In addition to enabling power production for a part of the country with high energy demand, this tender presents significant opportunities for new contracts for the supplier industry,” says Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.

The allocation of offshore wind project areas and state support will be conducted in two stages, with a maturation phase in between. In the first stage, three project areas will be awarded to the applicants who score highest in a competition based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria.

The qualitative criteria are:

• Cost level, realism and maturity
• Innovation and technology development
• Execution capability
• Sustainability
• Positive ripple effects

Each project area may have an installed capacity of up to 500 MW of floating offshore wind. Interested parties are now invited to submit their applications.

floating offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf. The allocation model for project areas and state support is tailored for floating offshore wind and is expected to promote both technology development and cost reductions for future projects. The model has been developed in close dialogue with the offshore wind industry,” says Aasland.

The competition for state support will take place after the maturation phase. To participate in the competition for state support, applicants must have submitted a license application and provided a bank guarantee for participation in the auction. The auction will only be held if at least two applicants meet the requirements.

One applicant will be awarded state support, and the winner will be the one offering the lowest support requirement to realize their project. Bids above the upper limit for state support—NOK 35 billion, as set by the Norwegian Parliament—will not be accepted. The winner must establish a project as close to 500 MW as possible, depending on the chosen turbine size. Applicants who do not win the support competition may apply to extend their exclusive rights to the project area in accordance with the Offshore Energy Act.

The government plans to regularly announce new areas and support competitions, as stated in the Ministry of Energy’s Proposition 1 S (2024–2025). Decisions on state support and support levels will be made in connection with these announcement rounds and approved by the Parliament.

The Ministry has also tasked the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) with conducting strategic environmental assessments of identified offshore wind areas in Norwegian waters. These assessments will be completed by the end of June 2025. The studies will, among other things, assess coexistence with other industries, nature and environmental considerations, and provide key insights for decisions on future openings and tenders on the Norwegian shelf.

The government believes it is important that the development of Utsira Nord benefits the local Utsira community, and will return with a concrete solution to ensure this as part of the 2026 national budget.

The announcement and related attachments are available here: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/lyser-ut-utsira-nord/id3101519/