Seagust pleased by Norway’s announcement of offshore wind competition

"Norway has great opportunities in offshore wind. Our areas at sea, are five times larger than areas on land. And there is a lot of wind along our coast. In addition, we have skilled professionals and companies that will contribute to develop this technology," says Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is announcing a competition for project areas for renewable energy production at sea in two areas on the Norwegian continental shelf: Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord.

"This is the starting point for the Norwegian offshore wind industry. We look forward to the competition. Our Norwegian-Swedish partnership is well equipped to help advance an industry that will contribute to European energy security and the green transition," says Lars Peder Fensli, Interim CEO of Arendals Fossekompani.

"We are pleased to see the start of this process and look forward to presenting our solutions and initiatives. Seagust and our owners have an impressive history for developing Norwegian industry based on sustainability," says Simen Elvestad, CEO of Seagust - a joint venture between Arendals Fossekompani's portfolio company Vergia, and Ferd.

Seagust has formed a joint venture with Swedish energy giant Vattenfall to bid for both Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord.

Ane Mette Lysbech-Kleis, Head of Vattenfall Offshore development, says: "We congratulate Norwegian authorities on this important step. Vattenfall already operate Scandinavia's largest offshore wind farm in Denmark, we are building the world's first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in Holland, and recently we received the right to develop Finland's first major offshore wind farm."

"The joint venture with Seagust represents our entry into the Norwegian wind market. We look forward to working together and developing what will surely become a successful industry in Norway," says Lysbech-Kleis.

By announcing the first competitions for offshore wind areas, the Norwegian government takes a big step towards its ambition of allocating areas for 30,000 MW offshore wind by 2040.

The application deadline for Sørlige Nordsjø II is 4 August and for Utsira Nord 1 September 2023.