The government`s broken promises cause reactions
Both the industry and politicians in Nordland are strongly reacting to the fact that Northern Norway was once again excluded from the offshore wind tender. Now, they demand that the impact assessment of Nordvest A be included in the government budget.
On September 15th, the government presented three new areas to be explored, with planned opening in 2025. This is in addition to the two areas that have already been opened. This means that none of the first five offshore wind areas will be located in Northern Norway, despite 80% of Norway's maritime areas being situated there. Industry players in Northern Norway strongly react to what they characterize as a broken promise from the government.
Northern Norway was not involved at the beginning of the Norwegian oil adventure, and the government has stated that the region should be part of the offshore wind initiative from the start. The race has started, and Thomas Borgen, cluster leader at Ocean Cluster Helgeland, describes it as a race where Northern Norway isn't even allowed to be in the first group chasing.
- We are disappointed. Both the Solberg government and the Støre government have repeatedly stated that Northern Norway should be included. It creates certain expectations. There is a significant gap between words and actions, and our expectations have not been met, says Borgen.
Expectations are particularly tied to the Nordvest A area off the coast of Helgeland. Many solid scientific and technical investigations of the area have already been conducted, and there is low conflict of interest in parts of the region. The conflict of interest is lower compared to, for example, Vestavind B, one of the three areas in the 2025 round, as identified by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), which is the technical agency of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
- We think it's great that several areas in Southern Norway are being tendered for offshore wind, and we don't believe it should be an either-or situation between Vestavind B or Nordvest A, says Borgen. Aasland states that they need to prioritize resources in the strategic impact assessment. We have been working on this area for 4 years, and authorities should prioritize an efficient impact assessment with a view to the 2025 opening, as is done further south. We urge national authorities to make use of the local knowledge we possess. As we see it, the solution now is to prioritize the impact assessment of Nordvest A in the government budget.
Offshore Wind in the North - a Triple Win
Borgen is supported by Linda Helén Haukland, the County Councilor for Planning and Business in Nordland from the Christian Democratic Party. Haukland believes that the offshore wind industry has the potential to build Northern Norway and equip the region for the emerging green industrial revolution. She recently provided 200,000 Norwegian kroner to Westcon Helgeland to promote the development of regional offshore wind industry.
- Offshore wind in the north is a triple win that provides power and jobs in the green shift. This is what we will live off in the future, and we would have had an advantage by starting on equal footing with everyone else so that we could position ourselves nationally and internationally. However, now we are falling behind. 80% of our maritime areas are in Northern Norway, so the potential is significant, and the Nordvest A field off Helgeland is more mature than fields included further south. Northern Norwegian offshore wind industry is supposed to supply to Southern Norway as well, not just Northern Norway, and a field in Helgeland would unlock more of our industry's potential, says Haukland.
Haukland believes it's about the future of the Northern Norwegian industry and that the biggest loss now is their inability to participate in the green industry that offshore wind represents right from the start.
- We expect a prioritization of Northern Norway and resources allocated to developing the offshore wind industry here. We are pleased with signals from Minister Vestre that this is on the agenda. However, it needs to happen soon, and an impact assessment of Nordvest A included in the government budget could be a good place to start. Locally in Nordland, we have engaged in constructive dialogue over time to identify areas with the lowest possible vulnerability and conflict level. Therefore, we have high expectations that funds will be allocated in the government budget for the impact assessment of Nordvest A.
Nordvest A Included in EU Project PERMAGOV
Arctic Energy Partners is using Nordvest A and Helgeland Marine Business Park as a case study in a larger EU project called PERMAGOV, in collaboration with UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
- There is no doubt that we need more renewable energy, and Nordvest A is a well-suited area to explore the possibilities for offshore wind," says Nina Kivijervi Jonassen, Project Director at Arctic Energy Partners. "We are disappointed by the government's decision not to include Northern Norway in the offshore wind tender this time either. We believe that Northern Norway should be involved now as the Norwegian offshore wind adventure begins in earnest.
