Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Iselin Nybø has announced new financial support for the Ocean Grid project in the North Sea through the country’s Green Platform scheme.
The Ocean Grid project will receive NOK82.7m ($9.5m) funding from the country, which targets to to enable rapid investments in green and sustainable solutions and products through the scheme.
The project is aimed at developing new technology and solutions for offshore wind development on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Besides, it involves studying the way offshore wind is connected to the grid.
Ocean Grid project is owned by energy companies and developers including Equinor, Agder Energi, Aker Offshore Wind, Deep Wind Offshore, Hafslund Eco, Fred. Olsen Renewables.
The project partners are also planning to raise a total of NOK125.5m ($14.5m) for the development of the offshore grid.
The works, spanning three years, will include both bottom-fixed and floating wind farms, and will enable the creation of green jobs and increased export revenues, in the long term.
Equinor offshore wind solutions vice president Florian Schuchert said: “Our objective is to realize offshore wind on a large scale.
“We have to build wind farms in a cost-effective way, and we of course need to get the power all the way to the customers.
“It’s crucial to our success that the energy companies, research institutions and suppliers collaborate towards this goal.”
Ocean Grid is said to address the issue of market design and the regulatory framework related to offshore grid to connect large offshore wind farms.
The project would enable Norwegian technology and a supply industry to provide new cable designs, subsea technology and floating converter stations.
Ocean Grid’s research component led by SINTEF is said to solve research challenges.
SINTEF chief scientist John Olav Tande said: “This project will develop technology and solutions that are essential to succeed with offshore wind.
“It will lay the foundation for a profitable offshore wind development in Norway, and technology that can provide increased exports and new green jobs.”
