This autumn, the world’s largest offshore wind farm began producing clean energy — and our ambition is for it not to be the largest for long. However, rising costs mean that challenges are looming on the horizon.
Offshore wind
Most wind turbines in the world today are bottom-fixed turbines standing in water depths of around 60 meters.
The next generation of offshore wind turbines is designed to float far out to sea. There the wind is stronger, but the depth of water makes it uneconomical to use bottom-fixed turbines.
The majority of the Norwegian continental shelf is suited for floating offshore wind. Although the potential in offshore wind is substantial, both floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind currently rely on subsidy schemes to be competitive in Norway.
Floating offshore wind has the most cost-intensive technology.