Expansion of onshore wind is a “no regrets” option for Norway

On 16 September WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson spoke about the future of Norwegian wind energy as part of the Havvindkonferansen 2019 offshore wind conference in Oslo.

The “no regrets” option for Norway, he said, is the further expansion of onshore wind. And for now, this is what’s happening. “Norway will more than double its onshore wind capacity over the next two years: from 2.1 GW to 4.9 GW. This makes perfect sense. Norway has the best wind resource in Europe and can build new onshore wind without public financial support.”

However, Dickson warned, the outlook for onshore wind beyond 2021 is currently unclear. It’s important the ongoing consultation on the new National Frame delivers licenses for further growth. It’s the no-cost option. And it will create jobs: in the wind industry and crucially in the heavy industries that consume wind power – each TWh under a PPA (with, for example, the aluminium sector) supports 1,150 heavy industry jobs.

But Norway should also develop offshore wind. It has great resources which it can connect in to the emerging North Sea grid. It can also carve out an industrial niche, especially in floating wind, and export its know-how and technology to what are going to be expanding markets for floating wind in Europe and elsewhere.

Europe’s leading offshore wind event, WindEurope Offshore 2019, will take place in Copenhagen on 26-28 November. Registration is now open.

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