Last week the news came that the government will open three areas for offshore wind. The areas NVE will carry out an impact assessment are located outside Haugesund, north-west of Bergen, and outside of South-West Norway. This has caused several people in Northern Norway to react. – This is so incredibly disappointing that I have no words. Here, several members of the government have promised that Northern Norway should be part of the next call for proposals for Norway’s investment in offshore wind. This is what the managing director of the Bodøregionens Utviklingsselskap, Elnar Remi Holmen, writes in a post on Facebook. He is annoyed that neither Helgeland nor the rest of Northern Norway is included in this round. – I do not have words. This is awkward, annoying and way too bad. The Artic Energy manager is not happy with the news either. – It is not good news that Northern Norway will come second when it comes to offshore wind. We have both areas and industry that are ready for this industry, then we have to start at the same starting line as the rest of Norway, says boss Kjell Giæver. – At least as ready as the rest of the country It was in April that NVE presented 20 new areas for offshore wind. Where, among other things, three fields are located on the coast outside central Norway and southern Nordland. Giæver says that the sea areas outside Helgeland are among the most suitable areas in Norway. – The area is not in conflict with fisheries or seabirds, and there are good wind resources, he says. – The industry in Helgeland, led by Westcon, is at least as clear and good as the rest of the country. The organization Offshore Norway would also like to see more areas included. – It should be possible to carry out strategic impact assessments also for areas in the north, including outside Helgeland and Hammerfest, says offshore wind director Roger Pedersen in the organization to NTB. These were the 20 areas for offshore wind. Photo: NVE Immature and little knowledge – Once again, I feel that northern Norway is being de-prioritised, while projects in the south are promoted. I have experienced this year that the government has come up with words and promises that something will be done in the north as well, but it turns out to be a promise to be at the back of the queue. That’s what the managing director of Mo Industripark, Arve Ulriksen says. But to Teknisk ukeblad, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) said that they should connect the north to the offshore wind investment. – Northern Norway can be sure of that. It’s a little more immature, a little less knowledgeable. We are working intensively on that question. We hope it can come almost immediately in connection with a 2025 round, he told the trade magazine. That surprises Ulriksen. Photo: NTB – It was directly surprising to hear that the oil and energy minister says that the offshore wind projects in the north are more immature, and that the government has less knowledge about the fields. I simply do not understand that. He says that the field outside Helgeland is more technically suitable and has less conflict of interest than, for example, Vestavind B, as one of the three areas is called. – We have a growing industry in Helgeland which is heavy. It is both located in Vefsn, in Mo i Rana, Sandnessjøen and on Nesna, and they have the technical expertise to realize offshore wind projects, if they get the chance. Will connect as soon as possible State Secretary in the Ministry of Oil and Energy, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap) writes in an e-mail that the government wants to proceed with all the 20 areas that the directorate group has proposed, including the areas in Northern Norway. – However, there are differences in how much we know about the various areas, which in turn affects how quickly we can carry out the necessary investigations that are needed, to ensure that, for example, sustainability and coexistence are taken into account in a good way. Eriksen says that they have always been clear that we want to connect to the north as quickly as possible. But it must be done in a way that ensures that they acquire and analyze the knowledge that is needed. – For the areas that have been proposed in the north, we have too little knowledge for us to do the thorough work required to open an area as early as the announcement in 2025. Read the full response to the State Secretary here: Photo: NTB Kommunikasjon/Prime Minister’s Office – We want to proceed with all 20 areas that the directorate group has proposed, including the areas in northern Norway. We will get back to these as quickly as possible, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Oil and Energy, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap). – However, there are differences in how much we know about the various areas, which in turn affects how quickly we can carry out the necessary investigations that are needed, to ensure that, for example, sustainability and coexistence are taken into account in a good way. This has consequences for what can already be included in a call for tenders in 2025, and what comes in somewhat later rounds. – Vestavind F and Sørvest F have been chosen because NVE believes we can get even more power by looking at expansions at the already opened areas. This will provide more offshore wind and more projects in already known areas. The investigation will build on the knowledge we have about these fields. In addition to these two fields, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy asks NVE to carry out a strategic impact assessment of Vestavind B. – The rationale for including Vestavind B in the assessment program for the 2025 round is twofold. An investigation carried out by NVE and Statnett in connection with the treatment of Trollvind showed that Kollsnes, among other things with regard to the power situation in the Bergen region, can be a very favorable connection point for offshore wind. Furthermore, Vestavind B is an area with a lot of existing offshore infrastructure and existing knowledge of various interests in the area. We have this knowledge, for example, due to the petroleum activities in the area. – Vestavind B an area with a lot of existing offshore infrastructure and existing knowledge of various interests in the area. When we have chosen to move Vestavind B into the study program for 2025, it is because, based on our knowledge of this area, we believe that with the knowledge we have, it is possible to find space for a good project that can be linked to Kollsnes with alternating current. Increased production into the Bergen area will be particularly beneficial. – When it comes to the north, we have always been clear that we want to connect to the north as quickly as possible. But it must be done in a way that ensures that we collect and analyze the knowledge we need in a proper way. For the areas that have been proposed in the north, we have too little knowledge to be able to do that work already before the announcement in 2025. But as soon as we have this knowledge – which we are now starting to collect – we will open and assign one or more areas in the north. – The purpose of the impact assessments is for them to give us more knowledge. But there is a difference between having the knowledge to be able to start an opening process for an area and assessing the suitability of different areas against each other. An important aim of the investigation, which will look at the 17 identified areas, is to assess areas, and parts of areas, against each other. Based on the knowledge from the impact assessment, the assessment of the areas made in the impact assessment and the processing of input after the impact assessment, we can make good political decisions about which areas we want to proceed with. This ensures that we make comprehensive and sound assessments that ensure coexistence, sustainability and an offshore wind investment that can stand up over time. – We have a lot of knowledge – The Minister of Oil and Energy signaled that Northern Norway would come early and that it could be relevant already in the first round. That is, the one that is now. That’s according to Storting representative for the Conservative Party, Bård Ludvig Thorheim. He disagrees with Aasland that Northern Norway is immature and that there is little knowledge. – We have a lot of knowledge about this. Here he highlights, among other things, Westcon in Helgeland, which is ready to produce foundations for offshore wind. – We have a petroleum industry that has great expertise. And there are three commercial players who want to develop offshore wind outside Hammerfest. And there are also several commercial players who are interested in Helgeland.
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– Incredibly disappointing – news Nordland
