Norway could see 50,000 jobs in floating wind by 2050 but 'uncertainties' cloud outlook: report

Nordic nation's emerging deepwater renewables play would generate huge employment and over $10bn in annual turnover but being delayed in development by lack of clarity of 'concrete ambitions' from government, says study from Menon Economics

. TetraSpar Stiesdal Shell RWE.Foto: SOT

Darius Snieckus

The Norwegian floating wind sector could create over 50,000 jobs in the Nordic country by mid-century – equal to some 25% of current total employment in its oil & gas industry, a new report from Menon Economics has concluded.

But the study, commissioned by the Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster, cautioned “uncertainty associated with framework conditions” continued to undermine take-off of the sector in Norway, which has plans for as much as 4.5GW of fixed and floating demonstration projects as part of its flagship offshore auction round.

“An investment in floating wind has been on the agenda among Norwegian players for several years. However, there is still uncertainty associated with framework conditions, when authorities want to realise floating wind and on what scale,” said Arvid Nesse, who heads up the Norwegian Offshore wind Cluster, which commissioned the report.

“To succeed in a venture and hit the right decisions, it is important to have a good knowledge base, where relevant and up-to-date information about the market and the player picture are a key input.”

Norway earlier this month set its first long-term offshore wind target with an ambition to unlock acreage for 30GW of capacity by 2040 in a move that was welcomed by the nation’s wind industry, even if it was lower than hoped for.

“Although [the country’s authorities] have been clear that they want to build a Norwegian-based industry in offshore wind, it was only in May that concrete ambitions were presented with regard to the realization of large-scale production Norwegian continental shelf,” said Nesse.

Nesse highlighted Norway’s “expertise… [in offshore] oil & gas technology has given the [domestic] supply industry a head-start” in the floating wind sector, pointing to the Menon Economics forecast that Norwegian players can take a 5-14% share of the global floating market by 2050, with some NKr100bn ($10.3bn) sector turnover per year in prospect.

“We must quickly build up a solid industry at home in Norway. The government has set a clear ambition for the offshore wind investment, and the supplier industry is ready to start,” he added, noting “legal and financial clarifications are still lacking”.

The world’s first utility-scale floating wind turbine, the 2.3MW Hywind Demo – which ran as prototype for many years after installation and is now an R&D unit – was deployed off Norway in 2008 at the MetCentre offshore testing facility off Karmøy, near Stavanger in on the country’s west coast. But until the arrival in 2021 of the 3.6MW Stiesdal TetraSpar unit, no other offshore wind turbines had been installed off Norway.

A world-first floating wind-linked oil & gas project – developer Equinor’s 88MW Hywind Tampen – is currently in development to part-power the Snorre-Gullfaks field.

DNV forecasts floating wind projects to make up over 15% of the total offshore wind deployment in the pipeline for switch-on by mid-century worldwide, some 264GW of the total 1,748GW foreseen installed.

Norway could see 50,000 jobs in floating wind by 2050 but 'uncertainties' cloud outlook: report

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