Norwegian Company Announces Ambitious Wind Plans

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Vestavind Kraft AS (Bergen, Norway) and its sister company, Vestavind Offshore AS (Bergen), have announced two very significant projects: Havsul 1, Norway's first commercial-scale offshore windfarm, and Stadtvind, Norway's first commercial-scale offshore floating windfarm. Both projects have been bolstered by the Norwegian Parliament's March 23 approval of an offshore renewable energy law.

The $1.2 billion Havsul 1 project, awarded to Vestavind Offshore in September of last year, will be built 20 kilometers northwest of Sandoy, Norway, in the North Sea. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2014, and when operational in September 2015 the facility will contain between 70 and 97 fixed 5-megawatt (MW) turbines. The windfarm is expected to have a production capacity of 350 MW and produce 1 terawatt-hour per year.

In light of Statoil ASA's (NYSE:STO) (Stavanger, Norway) Hywind and SWAY's (Rådal, Norway) ENOVA-funded prototype--both innovations in Norwegian offshore wind power--Vestavind Kraft is constructing Norway's first commercial-scale floating windfarm. Construction of the $2.5 billion project is set to begin in January of 2015 and will be 56 kilometers from the Stadlandet shore in the North Sea. The windfarm will consist of six modules, each consisting of 36 floating pylons of 5-MW each. With steady winds, the facility is anticipated to produce 1080 MW.

Assuming success, Norway hopes to couple the country's petroleum and wind industries, powering offshore drilling units with on-site windfarms. Connecting to onshore grids is a priority as well. The costs of constructing offshore windfarms are balanced by their output, making them viable competitors with onshore or near-onshore, floor-mounted windfarms.

Vestawind Kraft is also investing more than $380 million in several onshore projects as part of its plan to develop, build, own, and operate wind power plants onshore and offshore in western Norway. The Bremagerlandet, Hennoy, Okla, and Staveneset projects, all of which are scheduled for construction between 2013 and 2015, are expected to produce more than 180 MW when operational.

Both Vestavind Kraft and Vestavind Offshore are owned by the West Coast Alliance, an organization composed of Bergenshalvøens Kommunale Kraftselskap (Bergen), Haugaland Kraft AS (Haugesund, Norway), Sogn og Fjordane Energi (Sandane, Norway), Sognekraft (Vik, Norway), Sunnfjord Energi A.S. (Førde, Norway), Sunnhordland Kraftlag A.S. (Stord, Norway), and Tafjord (Ålesund, Norway).

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