- Seven groups that sought to take part in Norway’s first commercial wind farm tender have been approved to participate in the auction.
- The ministry said it would go ahead with the process despite being left with fewer than the six potential bidders.
Norway’s energy ministry, Terje Aasland said today that five of the seven groups that sought to take part in Norway’s first commercial wind farm tender have been approved to participate in the auction that starts on March 18.
The five groups include a consortium between Aker Offshore Wind, BP and Statkraft, another between Equinor and RWE, a joint project proposed by Shell, Lyse and Eviny, a cooperation between Parkwind and Ingka, and Energie Baden-Wurttemberg.
Chinese wind turbine maker Mingyang Smart Energy failed to qualify, as did the company Hydroelectric Corporation. Aasland did not say why the two were left out.
Furthermore, the tender offers the opportunity to build bottom-fixed wind turbines in the North Sea with a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW), in what Norway hopes will be the starting point for massive offshore power developments in the years leading up to 2040.
The ministry said it would go ahead with the process despite being left with fewer than the six potential bidders it previously said were needed for it to run a subsequent auction for the rights to build the wind farm.