A photo of the WindFloat Atlantic floating wind farm n Portugal

Mainstream, Ocean Winds, and Statkraft Add Aker Solutions to Utsira Nord Team

Mainstream Renewable Power, Ocean Winds, and Statkraft have signed a memorandum of understanding with Aker Solutions, in Norway to collaborate on floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord.

Illustration; WindFloat Atlantic floating wind farm offshore Portugal. Source: Principle Power

Mainstream, majority-owned by Aker Horizons, Ocean Winds, and Statkraft are in a consortium to pursue an application to develop floating wind power at the Utsira Nord license area offshore Norway in 2023.

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The consortium and Aker Solutions plan to jointly develop sustainable and cost-efficient technologies which include design, construction, fabrication, and installation initiatives and other innovative solutions and new technology to lower costs.

The collaboration aims to further develop capabilities across the Norwegian supply chain and strengthen Norway’s competitiveness in the floating wind.

Tove Røskaft, Head of Offshore Wind at Mainstream, said: ”The offshore wind journey is just getting started in Norway and innovative collaboration models are needed to ensure we position Norway competitively in offshore wind. We believe that bringing together the strengths from across the Aker group, along with those of our partners Ocean Winds and Statkraft, will position Utsira Nord at the forefront of the floating wind industry globally, while bringing broad benefits to Norway through new jobs, new technology and new green energy.”

Mainstream and Ocean Winds, the ENGIE and EDPR joint venture dedicated to offshore wind, are currently developing two projects with an estimated capacity of 3 GW of floating offshore wind in the United Kingdom and South Korea.

Oscar Diaz, Chief EPCI Officer, Ocean Winds, said: ”As a pioneer in the floating offshore wind sector with more than 10 years of experience from development to operations, Ocean Winds is looking forward to working together with Norwegian partners and suppliers to build a successful supply chain and create enriching opportunities.”

Statkraft and Mainstream have a separate and well-established partnership for the development of bottom-fixed offshore wind in Norway.

”Statkraft is pursuing an industrial role for offshore wind in the North Sea, and Norway is a crucial market for our strategy. Teaming up with Aker Solutions gives a strong push for the consortium in our ambitions to develop Utsira Nord and the market for offshore wind in Norway and demonstrates our commitment to utilizing Norwegian competence and progressing the Norwegian supply chain for international competition,” David Flood, SVP Offshore Wind in Statkraft, said.

Aker Solutions is an integrated solutions, products and services provider to the global energy industry with expertise and execution capacity in Norway.

”Floating offshore wind is a huge industrial opportunity for the supply chain to collaborate and build on the decades of offshore expertise developed in the North Sea,” Stephen Bull, EVP Renewables, Aker Solutions, said.

”Together with the consortium, we have the experience, innovation and cost-competitive models required to deliver the next full-scale floating offshore wind farm in Norway and take the industry to new, unexplored depths. We are excited to build a partnership focused solely on driving forward the next chapter in Norway’s energy legacy, whilst contributing to the government’s 2050 net-zero target.”

Utsira Nord and the first phase of the Sørlige Nordsjø II are planned to be put up for auction in the first half of 2023.

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Utsira Nord has a capacity of 1.5 GW which is divided into three 500 MW zones. The zones will be awarded on the basis of qualitative criteria, including facilitating innovation and technology development in floating offshore wind.

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