(Updates with Shell, BP joining local consortia)
OSLO, June 17 (Reuters) - Norway has earmarked two areas in
the North Sea to accommodate up to 4.5 gigawatt (GW) of floating
and bottom-fixed wind turbine capacity and will identify
additional offshore areas for development amid strong interest
from energy firms.
Utsira Nord, an area of 1,000 square km (386 square miles),
is located northwest of the oil industry capital Stavanger and
is seen as suitable for floating wind power.
Soerlige Nordsjoe II, some 2,590 square km and bordering the
Danish sector of the North Sea, is suitable for bottom-fixed
wind power turbines. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NQ1YR
Companies and joint ventures that have confirmed their
participation are:
Shell RDSa.L is partnering with local utilities BKK
BRGKM.UL and Lyse LYSEK.UL to prepare bids for both Utsira
Nord and Soerlige Nordsjoe II. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NZ4CZ
On June 14, British oil major BP BP.L announced it will
join Norway's Statkraft STATKF.UL and Aker Offshore Wind
AOW-E.OL to bid for permits in both areas. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NW4CQ
Denmark's Orsted ORSTED.CO has formed a consortium with
Fred. Olsen Renewables, a subsidiary of Bonheur BON.OL and
utility Hafslund-Eco, which plans to jointly develop offshore
wind in both areas. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NR2QO
Equinor EQNR.OL will seek acreage in both areas. It is
planning a bid with Eni ENI.MI renewables unit Vaargroenn for
a floating offshore wind farm at Utsira North and has teamed up
with Germany's RWE RWEG.DE and Norsk Hydro NHY.OL for a
planned wind farm at Soerlige Nordsjoe II. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2MT1N6
Germany's EnBW EBKG.DE and several Norwegian partners,
including wholesale and retail food supplier Norgesgruppen, have
announced the Norseman Consortia initiative to develop a 1.4 GW
wind farm in the Soerlige Nordsjoe II area. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NC1F9
Italy's Eni and Norway's HitecVision HITV.NFF have formed
the Vaargroenn joint venture and seek acreage at Soerlige
Nordsjoe II together with utility Agder Energi AGDER.UL .
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2HX29X
Magnora MGNR.OL and TechnipFMC 1T1.F plan to bid for a
site at Utsira Nord through their Magnora Offshore Wind
partnership. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2LG2J3
Deep Wind Offshore, a joint venture of shipping company
Knutsen OAS and utilities Haugaland Kraft and Sunnhordland
Kraftlag SUNNH.UL , plans projects for both sites.
Seagust, a joint venture by industrial investment firms
Arendals Fossekompani (AFK) AFK.OL and Ferd, is considering
bids for both areas. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NK3GS
A joint venture of offshore supply firm NorSea, majority
owned by shipping firm Wilhemsen WWI.OL and Belgian offshore
wind development firm Parkwind, has said it plans to apply for
licences in both areas.
(Reporting by Nora Buli; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Jan Harvey
and Jonathan Oatis)
((Nora.Buli@thomsonreuters.com; (+47) 21 04 05 56; Reuters
Messaging: nora.buli.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))