The Norwegian Government has opened its first offshore wind tenders, in which Norway hopes to award at least 3 GW of capacity in the North Sea, through two calls for bids.
Interested companies are invited to bid for acreage at the 605 km2 Sørlige Nordsjø II phase 1 area, located in the North Sea between Norway and Denmark. Sørlige Nordsjø II, which targets 3 GW of capacity, will be auctioned in two separate 1.5 GW phases. Norway will offer a contract to a single applicant consortium for up to 1.5 GW of turbine capacity on the site, enough to power 460,000 households.
In addition, the government has opened bidding for licences totalling at least 1.5 GW at Utsira Nord, an area of 1,000 km2 located off the city of Stavanger (south-western Norway). The Utsira Nord permits will be split between three applicant groups, which will be awarded 500 MW each (with a possibility to expand the capacity to 750 MW under certain conditions).
The application deadline has been set for 4 August 2023 for the Sørlige Nordsjø II tender and for 1 September 2023 for the Utsira Nord tender. A new round of tenders is expected to be announced in 2025. Norway plans to allocate areas for 30 GW offshore wind by 2040.
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