Norway today invited bids for three floating offshore wind farms off Utsira in Rogaland county, southwestern Norway, where the water is too deep for fixed-base turbines.

The developments are expected to have a combined generating capacity of 1.5GW.

Once the three areas have been allocated – each with a target capacity of 500MW – the three developers will have a chance to bid for state aid, with one winner eligible for around $3.4bn (NOK 35 billion).

State-aid bidding will take place after what the Norwegian government called a “maturation period” lasting about two years.

Interested parties have until 15 September to bid for one of the three areas. Bidding information is here.

Five criteria for bidders

The government set out five criteria for the competition’s first stage: 1) Cost level, realism and maturity; 2) Innovation and technology development; 3) Feasibility; 4) Sustainability; and 5) Positive ripple effects.

“This marks an important step forward for the government’s offshore wind investment,” said Norway’s energy minister Terje Aasland.

“In addition to providing power production to a part of the country with a large power demand, the announcement marks great opportunities for new contracts for the supplier industry.”

‘Joyful moment’

Idustry association Norwegian Offshore Wind responded to the news with joy.

“This is a joyful moment for the industry,” said its chief executive Arvid Nesse in a statement to GCR.

“With this, Norway is returning to the world stage in floating offshore wind, where we have all the prerequisites to become a global leader.

“Norway is a pioneer in floating offshore wind technology, and we have a strong supplier industry with many specialised companies.”