Norwegian government finalises support scheme for floating offshore wind

On 8 April 2025, the Government confirmed that it had sent a notification to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) regarding the support scheme for the plan.

Utsira Nord, which is in an area off the coast of Rogaland, was opened up for offshore wind production in June 2020. Any windfarm developed there will need to use floating wind technology because of the water depth. 

Following dialogue with ESA, the country’s Ministry of Energy decided to notify a common model for state aid for Utsira Nord before project areas are awarded. That model has now been submitted to ESA and a competition for the allocation of project areas will be announced as soon as possible after approval has been secured from ESA.

Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said, “The proposed support scheme will take the development of floating offshore wind and Utsira Nord a big step forward. I look forward to announcing the competition as soon as possible after ESA has approved the model.”

The notification sent to ESA describes a model where the allocation of project areas and state aid takes place in two stages with a ‘maturation phase’ between them. Three project areas will be allocated.

The Ministry said that, after a maturation period of approximately two years, the companies allocated project areas will have the opportunity to participate in an auction for state aid. 

The auction will enable a single project to obtain support for a windfarm with a capacity of 500 MW. The winner of the auction will be the actor that needs the least state aid to realize its project. The Storting, the Norwegian parliament, set the upper financial framework for state aid at approximately €3Bn.

The Ministry said this is the first time such a model has been processed under state aid regulations. Development of the model was undertaken in dialogue with the offshore wind industry and ESA.