Two consortia have confirmed applications for Norway’s Utsira Nord offshore wind tender, seeking to secure one of three 500-megawatt (MW) areas available in the country’s first major floating wind licensing round.
Equinor and Vårgrønn, a joint venture formed in 2021, submitted a bid for one of the three plots on offer in the 1.5-gigawatt (GW) zone off the coast of Rogaland, ahead of the Norwegian Ministry of Energy’s deadline on Sunday. The ministry is expected to award acreage in the first half of 2026, with a potential auction for state support scheduled for 2028–29.
“If we are awarded acreage, Utsira Nord will be an early-phase option,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, Equinor’s head of renewables in Norway. “To succeed, we must collaborate closely with the supplier industry, authorities, other users of the sea, and local interests.”
She added: “There are good conditions for offshore wind in Norway, but it is crucial that the framework conditions are continued and that there is no uncertainty in this regard.”
The consortium’s proposal builds on Equinor’s experience from Hywind Tampen, an 88MW floating wind project commissioned in 2022 and currently the largest operational floating wind farm globally. The partners are also developing the 560MW Green Volt project off Scotland, expected to become the largest commercial-scale floater when operational in 2029–30.
“Utsira Nord represents a unique opportunity for Norwegian industry and offshore wind,” said Stephen Bull, CEO of Vårgrønn. “Together with Equinor, we have the expertise and conditions to develop a profitable floating wind project in Norway.”
Separately, Deep Wind Offshore and EDF Power Solutions confirmed they have submitted a joint application for a 500MW floating wind development in the same area. The companies said the project could become the first large-scale floating offshore wind farm on the Norwegian continental shelf and one of the first of its kind globally.
“This is the starting point for the commercialisation of floating offshore wind in Norway,” said Knut Vea, CEO of Deep Wind Offshore. “We have worked on this project since 2021 and are committed to supporting local communities and industrial development in the region.”
The Deep Wind–EDF bid is backed by Deep Wind’s Norwegian owners—Knutsen Group, Haugaland Kraft and SKL—alongside UK-based Octopus Energy. EDF Power Solutions is a subsidiary of France’s EDF, which currently has a 30GW offshore wind pipeline and recently commissioned the Provence Grand Large floating project.
The Utsira Nord tender includes no financial commitments or acreage fees, with awards based on a range of qualitative criteria, including project maturity, innovation, implementation capacity, cost level and sustainability. The tender is part of Norway’s efforts to accelerate the development of commercial-scale floating offshore wind, building on decades of offshore industry expertise.
