Norwegian state enterprise Enova, owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, has awarded Fortius Offshore Wind AS and Fram Wind Solutions AS with NOK 3.94 billion (EUR 380 million) in funding to build floating offshore wind installations over the next five years.
The two projects awarded plan to install two large offshore wind turbines each at METCentre's demonstration site for floating offshore wind outside Karmøy in Rogaland.
A total of four new floating offshore wind turbines will generate enough energy to match the annual consumption of around 15,000 households. Annual energy production will amount to 300 million kilowatt-hours. The aim is to test and demonstrate new technology that can reduce the cost of generating energy from floating offshore wind, Enova said.
"If they succeed in making offshore wind technology profitable enough, it will be a major step toward faster, large-scale deployment of renewable power. Both Norwegian industry and the transport sector need this to reduce their climate emissions, "
Funding will be paid out if the projects are implemented, with NOK 2 billion going to Fortius Offshore Wind AS and NOK 1.94 billion to Fram Wind Solutions AS.
The companies will test and demonstrate new technologies, including floating foundations for large turbines, their mooring systems, and methods for constructing and operating the installations. These are among the key areas where costs must fall for floating offshore wind to become profitable.
Each floating offshore wind turbine to be installed has a capacity of 18.5 MW.
The projects were selected for funding through a competitive process based on the amount of energy generated per krone of funding, the potential for wider adoption of the technology, their carbon footprint, their impact on biodiversity, and their prospects for achieving low costs in the future, Enova said.
"Norway has particularly good prerequisites for developing floating offshore wind because we have a strong maritime industry and vast ocean areas with strong winds."
According to a report prepared by Enova for Norway's Ministry of Energy earlier this year, market participants estimate that a successful global rollout of floating offshore wind could bring energy generation costs down to as little as NOK 1 (around EUR 0.10) per kilowatt-hour.
Significant international investment in floating offshore wind is under way, particularly in Europe and Asia. Both France and the United Kingdom are investing heavily in floating offshore wind, having launched major tenders and made areas available for development in recent years.
This summer, France allocated EUR 63 billion to the development of floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind over the next 25 years. The European Commission has identified floating offshore wind as an important part of Europe’s energy mix leading up to 2050.