Norway – Ocean Grid project will receive 82.7 million NOK in funding under the Green Platform initiative, Iselin Nyb, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, announced.
The project will provide new technology, expertise, and solutions to allow viable offshore wind production on the Norwegian continental shelf. It will focus on how offshore wind will be connected to the grid. The development will involve both bottom-fixed and floating wind farms, and it will allow for the long-term generation of green jobs and higher export income.
The project partners will also contribute financially to the construction of the offshore grid, bringing the total to NOK 125.5 million. Together with the research institutes, the supply sector and energy businesses will play an active role in the initiative. The project will last three years.
Design of a new cable
The Ocean Grid project will also address market design and the regulatory framework issues associated with the building and management of an offshore grid to connect big offshore wind farms. It will create Norwegian technology as well as a supply industry in order to deliver innovative cable designs, subsea technology, and floating converter stations. The Ocean Grid project also includes a research component headed by SINTEF that will address specific research problems.
Europe intends to build 300 GW of offshore wind power by 2050. The Norwegian industry has created world-leading marine and subsea technologies throughout five decades of oil and gas exploitation. Norway is thus in a unique position to capitalize on this knowledge and capture a sizable share of this new market.
