EDF Renewables raises sails with DWO for maiden Norwegian offshore wind tender
French energy developer and Norwegian start-up Deep Wind Offshore forge 50:50 joint venture to bid in upcoming auctions for Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø 2 zones in North Sea
French clean-energy developer EDF Renewables has formed a joint venture (JV) with Norwegian start-up Deep Wind Offshore (DWO) to bid to build offshore wind arrays off the latter’s home country via the upcoming auctions in the so-called Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø 2 zones.
Frédéric Belloy, EDF Renewables executive vice president for international operations, said the company was “excited about the opportunity” offshore wind could represent for the Nordic nation.
“To have DWO as a partner on the Norwegian shelf, will strengthen the offering and put us in a strong position to secure exclusivity on the announced area,” he said.
“Based upon our significant experience in offshore wind, we are at the forefront of technology-development to deploy in particular floating offshore wind projects.”
DWO CEO Knut Vassbotn said: “Having now worked with EDF Renewables for several months, we have found that we share the same overall goals for the offshore wind industry: develop new projects at scale to reduce cost, create opportunities for local supply chain and provide more renewable energy to Norway and Europe.
“Energy projects at scale offer opportunities to local communities, but projects must be planned, developed, built and operated in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.”
Vassbotn stated: “With excellent wind speeds and waters ideally suited for floating wind, I certainly believe that Norway is ready to move into deploying floating wind at commercial scale.”
Norway’s lead-off offshore wind tender has attracted a roll-call of big hitters from power and oil & gas, incluind Iberdrola, TotalEnergies, RWE, Orsted, Shell, BP, Equinor, Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, Fred Olsen Renewables, Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind.