Equinor Unveils Floater Specifics for Utsira Nord Project, Partners with Wergeland for Floating Wind Foundation Production

Business development

June 20, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Equinor has entered into a long-term partnership agreement with Wergeland Group as the preferred supplier for the fabrication of foundations and the assembly of turbines for floating offshore wind. At the same time, Equinor and partner Vårgrønn confirm which floater concept will be developed for the Utsira North (Utsira Nord) project.

The facilities at the Wergeland Base will give Equinor access to an area that can serve as a factory for offshore wind.

This factory will be Equinor’s solution for safe, efficient, and robust mass production for developing offshore wind, where activities are gathered in one location, said the Norwegian firm.

“This agreement is highly important for the industrial development of floating offshore wind in
Norway. The agreement will promote further development of the Norwegian supplier industry in
offshore wind and will also bring local value creation and social development”, said Siri Espedal Kindem, senior vice president for the Renewables Norway cluster.

The first project for cooperation with Wergeland will be the Utsira Nord project for Equinor and Vårgrønn, which is scheduled to be awarded during the year.

The partners confirm that the plan is to use a concrete floater based on a spar-type design in the Utsira Nord project.

According to the press release, the concrete foundations for the wind farm will be produced in Norway.

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“As the only fully Norwegian consortium competing for Utsira awards we are dedicated to maximising positive local spin-offs and helping establish a Norwegian supply chain for offshore wind capable of delivering at the scale that Norway’s offshore wind ambitions require”, said Christer af Geijerstam, head of project development at Vårgrønn.

The agreement has an initial duration of five years with an option to extend if the parties agree on it.

Norway officially opened the application window for the Utsira Nord areas in March this year. The award of the contracts will take place by the end of 2023.

Utsira Nord has a capacity of 1.5 GW, which the government divided into three sites, each of which can accommodate a wind farm of 500 MW.