On Wednesday morning, Brigg Vind announces that they are withdrawing from the competition to participate in the first chapter of the major Norwegian offshore wind venture, Sørlige Nordsjø II. The deadline expires at twelve o’clock, and there is great excitement about how many people will join. The background is that political prestige has been lost in the case, and that the height of the fall is great. – The award of the project in the Southern North Sea comes at an inauspicious time. It is not at all certain that some companies will bid as the conditions are, writes editor in Energi og Kima, Anders Bjartnes. Earlier in the week, it became clear that the Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted is withdrawing from the competition. From before, Norsk Hydro, Aker, Vattenfall and Seagust have also expressed that the effort will be too high and that the framework conditions are not good enough. Another milestone comes from Great Britain. When Britain held an auction for an offshore wind project in September, there was no bid. The explanation is supplier problems, delays, inflation and interest rate increases. For the same reason, the offshore wind project Trollvind has been put on hold. Shell has announced that they will issue a press release at 12 noon. – Will increase the pressure on the government Hilde Øvrebekk, commentator in Stavanger Aftenblad – I think that it may well be that there are enough applications for the pre-qualification. This means that the government can keep the possibilities of applying in February open. At the same time, the pressure will increase on the government to change the contracts so that it is opened up to even more subsidiaries. Offshore wind development is not profitable with today’s costs, just look at the USA and the UK where companies have taken large write-downs or neglected to apply in the auctions. The government should get one foot on the ground and consider whether we should subsidize this industry with more points from the community. Especially when there is no guarantee that this will ever pay off for Norway Southern North Sea II is the blue box down by the Danish border. In October, the EU launched a new wind power package which is described as a hand out to a wind power industry in crisis. Photo: NVE The Minister: – It worries me because I am aware of what Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) has previously said that he must have six applications on the table for the bid round in February to go as planned. During the Offshore Wind Conference in October, the minister expressed both optimism and concern from the scene. When asked if there will not be any repairs, he replied: – Politically speaking, we then have to consider what we are going to do. Whether we should postpone the start-up, or what we do. But I think there are players who will deliver. When asked if he had noticed the lack of interest in the British auction, he replied: – It worries me that I am aware of it. This applies to large industrial projects that have a demanding cost picture that must be carried out in a connected value chain with challenges. At the same time last year, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) stated that the offshore wind investment should ideally pay for itself, and that he would support the developers “with as little money as possible”. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB No offer at British auction When Trollvind was launched last summer, Equinor stated that the project was profitable in itself, and that there was no need for a subsidiary. Since then, the cost estimates for the Norwegian offshore wind investment have grown with each calculation. From an “expected” NOK 9 billion and a “maximum limit” of NOK 15 billion, to the latest estimate of NOK 23 billion. Adjusted for inflation, the figure is in practice NOK 24 billion, and in an article in Dagens Næringsliv, the head of the Energy Commission, Lars Sørgard, lists six reasons for putting the offshore wind investment on hold. There is also a dispute as to whether the current from the wind turbines at the Danish border should go into “hybrid cables” (which go “both ways”) or just go directly to the Norwegian mainland (via “radial cables”). Until then, the government’s decision is that the cables should only go to Norway. Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets measured in million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents? Click for explanation of CO₂ equivalents. Norway’s climate target 23.1 million tonnes annually Go to news’s Climate Status What is Norway’s climate target? By 2030, Norway must cut at least 55 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels. The goal is to be achieved in cooperation with the EU. By 2050, 90-95 per cent of Norwegian emissions must be cut. This means that we must cut emissions at record speed. In the last ten years we have managed to cut around 5 million tonnes, in the next ten we will cut around 25 million tonnes. How will Norway reach the climate target? Norway must cut emissions in two ways, because the sources of emissions can be divided into two: Emissions subject to a quota: This are particularly emissions from industry and the oil/gas platforms. The emissions are covered by the EU’s quota system: In order to emit greenhouse gases, the industry must buy permits (quotas) in the EU at the price determined by the quota market. Steadily higher prices and fewer quotas will force emissions cuts where it is easiest to implement. Non-quota-obligatory emissions: These are greenhouse gas emissions from, among other things, transport, agriculture, waste and heating in buildings. This is called the non-quota-obligatory sector because you do not need quotas to release greenhouse gases. How Norway can cut emissions in this sector is described in the specialist report “Climate cure 2030”. The politicians decide which of the measures from the report are to be implemented. Norway can also cut non-quota-obligatory emissions by paying for emission cuts in other European countries. The government says that it plans to meet the targets without using this option, but it can be used if it becomes “strictly necessary”. For Norway, the emissions in the two sectors are roughly the same: in 2019, they released around 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each .What happens if Norway does not reach the climate target? It could be politically embarrassing. A likely solution is that Norway chooses to pay for emission cuts in other countries. Norway can also be subject to sanctions if we do not reach the targets we have agreed with the EU. Norway must regularly report cuts to the UN, in line with the targets set in the Paris Agreement. Here, no sanctions are stipulated for those who do not fulfill their obligations. – Great risk of Norway falling behind The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that the global offshore wind market will grow by 13 percent every year, and that it will have a total installed capacity of 560 GW in 2040. The government’s ambition is that Norway will account for 30 GW of this offshore wind capacity. Or with a simpler picture: 1,500 wind turbines. Today, the number is 13. The road ahead is therefore long, and last year DN got hold of an internal Ministry of Foreign Affairs note which warned that there is a “great risk of Norway falling behind in offshore wind”. The background was an offshore wind summit with government leaders from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to which Norway was not invited. “When there is talk of the North Sea as Europe’s green power plant without Norway’s involvement, it means that Denmark is about to take a leadership position that may be difficult to regain,” warned the UD note. Some offshore wind projects that never happened Trollvind (2023): Floating plant that was supposed to provide power to the platforms on the Troll field. In May, Equinor shelved the project – the company thought it was too expensive. Havsul (2021): In 2008, NVE granted a license to wind power plants outside the Møre coast. The government upheld the decision in 2009. In 2021, Havsul I was stopped by the government. It was emphasized that strict practices were applied and that the original license and impact assessment were old and out of date. Siragrunnen (2015): Offshore wind farm outside the municipalities of Sokndal and Flekkefjord. The government said no out of concern for migratory birds, fisheries and the landscape. Vannøya (2009): Bottom-fast offshore wind on Vannøya in Troms, but the company shelved the project in 2009. The reason was that the area is important for the fishing industry. Fosen (2009): Comprehensive plans for seabed offshore wind outside Åfjord in Osen and Roan municipalities in Trøndelag. The project was terminated due to a lack of network capacity in the area. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) nevertheless believes that offshore wind will supply the Norwegian power grid with power “well before 2030”. Others doubt that Norway will have any offshore wind before 2030. In a column in Nettavisen, Sigurd Jorde writes in Manifest Analysis that only stronger measures and “state ownership can save offshore wind”. The year 2030 is key because Norway has committed to cutting emissions by 50–55 per cent by then. NVE proposes to sort out these 20 areas for offshore wind. The oil companies Equinor, BP and Shell are among the companies that have signaled an interest in joining the large offshore wind auction in the North Sea. Photo: NVE
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Today comes the answer for the offshore wind farm in Sørlige Nordsjø 2 – news Vestland
