Vattenfall and Norwegian company Seagust have formed a joint venture to bid for offshore wind areas in Norway’s upcoming licensing rounds.
The pair intend to bid on licenses in both the Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II areas in the North Sea, after the Norwegian government announced plans to build up to 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in 2020.
Leases will be extended to both floating and bottom-fixed wind turbines, and licensing rounds are expected to take place this year, after long delays.
Utsira Nord is an area of 380 square miles located northwest of Stavanger, which the government says is suitable for floating wind sites, while Sørlige Nordsjø II covers around 1,000 square miles bordering the Danish North Sea, where bottom-fixed turbines may be more appropriate.
The joint venture marks Vattenfall’s entry into the Norwegian wind market.
BA Wind Vattenfall head Helene Biström said Norway was “an attractive market” to the company given its huge wind resources and added: “We are delighted to see the growing support from the Norwegian government.”
Seagust was established in 2021 by industrial investment companies Arendals Fossekompani (AFK) and Ferd. Headquartered in Arendal, Norway, its ambition is to become an offshore wind developer with domestic and international operations.
Chief executive Simen Elvestad commented: “We are thrilled to co-operate with Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest operators of offshore wind. They have experience in leading every phase of a project, from consenting, construction and through to operation. Their track record of successful offshore wind projects is truly impressive.
“Our joint venture is now positioned as a top contender in the initial round of licensing of Norwegian offshore wind resources”.
The joint venture will join the likes of BP, Orsted, Equinor, EnBW and many more bidding for acreage in the tender.
Given the exceptional amount of capacity seen in the recent ScotWind leasing round, Norway will be hoping for a similar success later this year.
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