Offshore wind energy may become the next adventure for the Norwegian industry and energy sector, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Riis-Johansen said in a statement of a draft bill presented by the center-left government.
The proposed act, which is yet to be approved by parliament where the government has a slim majority, says that wind resources at sea belong to the state.
The proposal creates a framework for ensuring that energy infrastructure is planned, constructed and operated with due concern for energy supply, environment, security, fisheries, sea transport and other interests, Riis-Johansen said.
The draft said that Denmark was the first country to start tests of sea-based wind turbines, in 1991.
In European Union nations, out of 760,000 megawatts of installed electricity generation capacity about 1,500 MW are offshore wind, it said. Another 2,600 MW are under construction, mostly turbines standing on the sea bed in shallow waters.
