Shell consortium among successful applicants for Norwegian offshore wind tender

A joint bid from oil major Shell, Norwegian electricity firm Lyse and power company Eviny was among the qualifying entries, despite Shell describing the tender as “very challenging” and suggesting earlier this week it could withdraw its participation.

Two other applications featuring major oil companies also qualified. One is a consortium between Norwegian oil firm Equinor and German developer RWE. The other includes British oil major BP alongside Norway-based firms Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind.

Applicants from Ventyr, a joint venture between Ikea owner Ingka and Belgian offshore wind specialist Parkwind, and Norseman Wind, a subsidiary of German energy firm EnBW, also qualified.

The energy ministry said all five successful applicants had met the minimum requirements for sustainability and “positive ripple effects” in addition to their ability to implement their projects.

Chinese turbine manufacturer Minyang, which submitted an entry as an individual company rather than a consortium, was not named among the companies that qualified. 

The Sørlige Nordsjø II or Southern North Sea II tender opens on 29 March and will seek to auction a seabed area that could support up to 1.5GW of fixed bottom offshore wind capacity in Norway’s North Sea.

The country is aiming to allocate 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040 as it diversifies its energy mix beyond its existing reliance on oil, gas and hydropower.

Sørlige Nordsjø II will feature an open bidding process whereby the five qualifiers will bid increasingly low bids for state support of their proposed offshore wind projects until one remains.

“The winning bid determines the strike price that forms the basis of the two-way contract for difference,” the ministry explained.