Norway awards 1.5-GW offshore wind concession to Ventyr consortium

The Ventyr consortium -- Parkwind, Ingka Investments, and NorSea Group -- has won Norway's first offshore wind auction with a bid of NOK 1,150/MWh ($108/MWh), the energy ministry said March 20.

Two of five pre-qualified consortia participated in the auction for the 1.5-GW Sorlige Nordsjo-II concession.

"This is a milestone in the Government's offshore wind investment, and today we have taken a major step forward in the work to develop offshore wind in Norway," energy minister Terje Aasland said.

No further bidder details were published. The four other pre-qualified consortia were BP, Aker and Statkraft; Equinor and RWE; Norseman Wind and EnBW; Shell, Lyse and BKK.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said more acreage and new auctions will be announced in the coming years, with the government aiming to allocate 30 GW by 2040.

The government would now sign a contract for difference with Ventyr within four weeks, with total state aid under the CFD capped at NOK 23 billion, it said.

The winner gains time-limited exclusive rights to carry out a project-specific impact assessment and apply for an operating license.

With the first turbines expected to be operational by 2030, this 1.5GW wind farm will play a crucial role in advancing the country's renewable energy transition, the three partners said in a joint statement.

"We are thrilled to have secured the winning bid," said Jorne Bluekens, project manager at Ventyr.

Rising electricity prices in 2022 in Southern Norway's NO2 bidding zone, linked to the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, were the key reason for Oslo to split the fixed-bottom tender in two, with the first 1.5 GW to connect to the Norwegian grid rather than higher-priced European markets as initially planned.

The tenders for three 500 MW floating offshore wind projects on Norway's West coast are delayed pending state aid clearance.

Day-ahead power in the NO2 zone halved year on year to average Eur79.8/MWh ($86/MWh) in 2023, Nord Pool data showed.

Belgium's Parkwind was acquired by Japan's JERA last year for Eur1.55 billion. Swedish Ingka Investments' core business is IKEA Retail.