Aker Offshore Wind, Statkraft and Ocean Winds in Norwegian floating wind tie-up

Norwegian pureplay offshore wind developer Aker Offshore Wind, compatriot hydropower company Statkraft and Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie, have partnered to jointly bid for the development of a commercial scale floating offshore wind farm in the Utsira Nord license area in the Norwegian North Sea.

The Norwegian ministry of petroleum and energy has designated the Utsira Nord, located around 30 km off the coast of Norway, to build up to 1.5 GW of new floating offshore capacity and the Sørlige Nordsjø II zone comprising up to 3 GW of new bottom-fixed offshore wind potential.

Kristian Røkke, chairman of Aker Offshore Wind and CEO of Aker Horizons, said: “Together with Ocean Winds and Statkraft, we have formed a partnership of experienced developers and operators to push the boundaries for offshore floating wind and develop new value chains for Norwegian industry. At Utsira Nord, the ambition is to further develop and industrialise technology based on Principle Power’s market-leading floating substructure technology.”

Aker Offshore Wind and Ocean Winds have partnered on other projects in California, South Korea and most recently in Scotland. Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind have a well-established partnership for the Sørlige Nordsjø II area in Norway.

Splash reported yesterday on TotalEnergies, Iberdrola and Norsk Havvind also teaming up for wind projects offshore Norway.