Norway Launches Competition to Fund Small-Scale Floating Wind Projects

Norwegian state enterprise Enova, owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, has launched a call for applications for a competition round to award funding to small-scale floating wind projects.

Projects that can apply are those looking to test and demonstrate new solutions that can lower the cost of floating offshore wind energy, with the deadline for applications set for 12 February 2026.

In this round, the third one that Enova launched for floating wind, projects with one to up to five wind turbines can participate to secure up to NOK 2 billion (approximately EUR 168 million) in state support.

Commenting on the funding competition call, Arvid Nesse, CEO of Norway’s industry organisation Norwegian Offshore Wind, said: “When we look at the criteria, it’s clear that Enova is seeking applicants who are serious about offshore wind, have solid financing behind them, and intend to use a small-scale project as a stepping stone to learn and cut cost before going toward something larger. Either way, this is excellent news and an important opportunity for the offshore wind industry.”

The programme, called Competition for support for small-scale commercial floating offshore wind projects, will be run over several rounds leading up to 2030, and has already awarded funding for two projects.

In 2024, Enova granted NOK 2 billion to the GoliatVIND floating offshore wind project, developed by Odfjell Oceanwind, Source Galileo, and Kansai Electric Power Company. The 75 MW demonstration project is planned to feature Odfjell Oceanwind’s Deepsea Star foundations and five 15 MW wind turbines. The floating wind farm will be connected to the Goliat oil platform in the Barents Sea, utilising the existing power cable to shore, and is expected to be put into operation in 2027.

At the beginning of 2025, Wind Catching Demo, a subsidiary of Wind Catching Systems, received a NOK 1.2 billion (approximately EUR 100 million) grant from Enova to deploy a commercial demonstrator unit of its multi-turbine floating wind platform.

The demo project has a total installed capacity of 40 MW and involves one Windcatcher with 40 turbines of a 1 MW output. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2029.

The Norwegian government has also just awarded two project sites under the country’s first floating wind tender.

Harald Hårfagre, a joint venture between Deep Wind Offshore and EDF Renewables, and a consortium of Equinor and Vårgrønn, which were the only developers to submit applications in the tender, have secured sites for 500 MW floating wind farms.

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