High Wind: The Prelude to the First Offshore Wind Auction

Stavanger Mayor Sissel Knutsen Hegdal wants Stavanger to be a focal point for offshore wind. Photo by Arne Birkemo.

Monday, March 18, at 09:00, it's time for the very first offshore wind auction on the Norwegian shelf, SN II - located at the border with Denmark. How many players will bid to build the wind farm? Who wins? Five players are qualified to participate in the auction:

- Aker Offshore Wind, BP, and Statkraft
- Equinor and RWE
- Norseman Wind (Energie Baden-Württemberg AG)
- Shell, Lyse, and Eviny
- Ventyr (Parkwind and Ingka)

Nearly 300 participants attended High Wind 2024

Less than a week before the auction, the offshore wind community gathered at the High Wind conference in the grand hall of the Clarion Hotel Energy in Stavanger. Around 300 participants, about 30 speakers from domestic and international backgrounds, key players in the offshore wind community, decision-makers, and politicians. This year's conference was, in many ways, the prelude to the auction on March 18.

Even though it takes time to get the new industry off the ground, it's coming, was the tone at High Wind. And wind turbines in the North Sea will become an important industry in Norway - built on the foundations of the existing oil and gas industry.

The Mayor wants a center of gravity in Stavanger

Stavanger Mayor Sissel Knutsen Hegdal says the offshore wind industry is extremely important for the Stavanger region.

"It's absolutely crucial for Stavanger to get started and build out. Stavanger is capable of making this transition, from being not only the oil capital but also becoming the renewable capital - the energy capital," Knutsen Hegdal told the Chamber of Commerce.

As Mayor of Stavanger, it's also about securing new jobs for the energy capital. That the Stavanger region becomes a center of gravity within offshore wind.

"As Mayor, I must ensure that the jobs come here, to our region. And that they do not go to Northern Norway, Eastern Norway, Scotland, or Denmark. For Stavanger, the surrounding municipalities, and the region, it's critical that we manage to maintain the Stavanger region as the region in Norway with the highest value creation," says Knutsen Hegdal.

Equinor: – Must be profitable

It's time to get started with offshore wind in Norway, several speakers argued during the conference. One of them, Øistein Johannessen, industry coordinator for offshore wind at Equinor, emphasized several times the importance of the projects being profitable from the start.

Johannessen also mentioned the importance of starting the offshore wind era now.

"We've talked about it for a long time. I've been working with offshore wind since 2007. It's been a long road. It's important to start now. We have all the opportunities, but it must be profitable. We need to develop a supplier industry, which also needs to be profitable. In addition, the public must welcome the projects. That's the key to success," Johannessen said from the podium.

And when asked by the moderator about the consequences if there are no bids during the auction on March 18, Johannessen replied:

"It's not good if there are no bids."

Wind Europe: – Has all the prerequisites

In Europe, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark have made significant advances in offshore wind over the past year. The United Kingdom is the largest market with 15 gigawatts of total capacity. The EU has a total of 19 gigawatts.

Elena Beianu, senior advisor at WindEurope, told the Chamber of Commerce that she hopes Norway accelerates offshore wind development.

"Norway has valuable offshore expertise from the oil and gas industry. You have the expertise. Norway has vast natural resources. The Netherlands has a small coastline but is heavily investing in offshore wind. Norway has a much larger coast. Why not utilize this?"

"My impression is that Norway and Europe share many of the same ambitions regarding offshore wind. I look forward to the auction on March 18," Beianu added.

In her presentation, Beianu mentioned that the EU needs to develop 425 gigawatts of wind energy - both on land and at sea - by 2030. 100 gigawatts of this figure are offshore wind.

"The clock is ticking. Offshore wind can really contribute to achieving the energy goals," Beianu said from the podium.

High Wind is organized by the city of Stavanger, ONS, the Stavanger-region Chamber of Commerce, and Norwegian Offshore Wind.

This article was originally published in Norwegian by the Stavanger-region Chamber of Commerce.