Statkraft Drops Plan to Bid in Norway’s Floating Wind Tender, Stops Activities in New Offshore Wind Projects

Statkraft will stop further activities in new offshore wind projects, including the upcoming allocation round for floating wind projects at Utsira Nord in Norway, but will continue the development of the North Irish Sea Array (NISA), the Norwegian company said on 18 June.

The move comes as Statkraft seeks to reduce its annual costs by NOK 2.9 billion (approximately EUR 253 million) by 2027, which is around 15 per cent less compared to the estimate for 2025. Following a strategic review last year, the renewable energy developer plans to achieve the cost reduction by focusing on fewer technologies and countries to decrease the company’s complexity and reduce payroll and other operating expenses.

In May this year, Statkraft announced that it had decided to stop new green hydrogen developments and has now also said that it will assess its investment position in solar, wind and batteries in Poland and that it will close down development activities in Portugal.

“As we need to prioritise, parts of the portfolio will benefit from getting new owners. Offshore wind will play an important role in the power mix in Europe, but the pace of development of the industry has been slower than previously forecasted, and this has impacted the ability to drive down costs in the short term”, said Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, Statkraft President and CEO.

The allocation round for Utsira Nord floating wind sites opened in May, with the bidders invited to submit their applications until 15 September 2025.

To bid in the Utsira Nord floating wind tender, Statkraft joined forces with Ocean Winds and Aker Offshore Wind (now Mainstream Renewable Power) in 2021, but the company’s two partners exited the partnership in 2024.

However, in November last year, Statkraft said the company “has continued ambitions to become a significant offshore wind player in Norway, even after Mainstream and Ocean Winds have decided to withdraw from the Utsira Nord competition”.

The North Irish Sea Array (NISA), which Statkraft said will continue developing, is one of the four offshore wind projects selected in Ireland’s first offshore wind auction.

The company is developing the 500 MW Irish offshore wind farm in partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

For Statkraft, this is not the first time it has put the brakes on offshore wind.

In 2017, the company decided to stop investing in offshore wind and to exit its existing projects, citing limited financial capacity as the reason. Statkraft completed its exit from offshore wind in 2018, after divesting its stakes in the Triton Knoll, Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms in the UK.