The Ukraine war slows down Norwegian offshore wind investment – NRK Vestland
Steel shortages and bottlenecks in the supply chain mean that the completion of Hywind Tampen – “the largest floating wind farm in the world” – has been postponed until next year.
Metal and mineral have been called «Putin’s trump card» in the geopolitical game between the West and Russia, and d.elar of the global steel market has collapse as a result of the Ukraine war.
According to the plan, Hywind Tampen was to supply the Gullfaks and Snorre fields in the North Sea with electricity from this autumn.
Now it is in reduced power production after “quality deviations in steel plates in four tower sections” were found. That reports Equinor.
– Longer implementation time will have consequences for the costs, says Eskil Eriksen at Equinor newspaper Northern Hordeland.
He points out that weather conditions in autumn and winter do not make it safe to transport the last turbines from the industrial quay out into the North Sea until spring.
In practice, this means that four out of eleven wind turbines must spend the winter in Sløvåg in Gulen (video below).
– Offshore wind investment weakened by lack of labour
Project director for Hywind Tampen, Olav-Bernt Haga, says the ambition is still to supply power throughout the year – «first to Gullfaks, then to the Snorre field».
In May, the Støre government announced that they want 1,500 wind turbines in Norwegian waters by 2040, and that offshore wind must produce as much power as Norwegian water turbines.
But, such a problem with the steel plates demonstrates, political will is becoming one of several “effort factors” which controls the speed of the Norwegian offshore wind investment.
In a written question to the energy minister, Rasmus Hansson (MDG) asks how the European desire for Norwegian gas harmonizes with the offshore wind investment.
– We fear that a lack of labor at Norwegian shipyards will lead to a weaker offshore wind investment, says Hansson to NRK.
Workers at Norwegian shipyards are on vacation today in puljar to keep gas production up.
Internal note: «Great risk of Norway falling behind»
Questions about the Norwegian offshore wind investment have also raised our “indoors”.
In June, DN wrote about one internal UD memo who warns that there is a “great risk of Norway falling behind on offshore wind”.
The background was an offshore wind summit with government leaders from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark and Norway was not participating.
The meeting culminated in the Esbjerg Declaration, which states that the North Sea will become “Europe’s green powerhouse”.
“When there is talk of the North Sea as Europe’s green power plant without Norway being involved, it means that Denmark is about to take a leadership position which may be difficult to obtain”, warns the UD memo.
Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, put forward a plan in May to build artificial “energy islands” in the North Sea. Financial Times calls the project “the world’s most ambitious offshore wind project”.
Oil and Energy Minister Terje Lien Aasland (Ap) has previously stated that the government “must come back to” if Norway is to join the Esbjerg Declaration.
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What is the government’s investment in offshore wind?
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What is the government’s investment in offshore wind?
In February, it was decided that the Government would open up the development of offshore wind in the North Sea.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has sent a proposal for consultation on the division into notification areas for both Utsira Nord and Sørlige North Sea II.
At Utsira north, there is talk of floating offshore wind, while wind turbines in Sørlige Norsjø II will be fixed to the bottom.
Where should the wind turbines at sea be located?
Even though the area at Sørlige Nordsjø II is right on the border with Denmark, the power just needs to be connected to Norway.
– It is about ensuring access to clean and reasonable power. This is the situation we are in now a reminder of, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) when he presented the initiative.
When will this be clear?
Støre estimates that the first offshore wind turbines will come in the latter half of the 2020s.
The fields will be able to light up in autumn 2022. Auction must be the main method.
Does everyone agree that this is a good idea?
The venture has met with opposition. The opposition fears that it will not be profitable and that the taxpayers will have to take the risk. This is because the power is not connected to a European brand.
The government has thus been criticized for the investment being dependent on subsidies.