Utsira Nord
Article | Last updated: 11/06/2025 | Ministry of Energy
The area Utsira Nord is located outside the coast of Rogaland, and was opened for offshore renewable energy production 12 June 2020. On 19 May 2025, the Ministry announced a competition for project areas for offshore wind in Utsira Nord.
The competition for project areas is being carried out in accordance with Section 2-3 of the Offshore Energy Act and Chapter 2A of the Offshore Energy Act Regulation. The competition winners will be awarded a project area with a time-limited, exclusive right to carry out a project-specific impact assessment and apply for a licence, cf. Section 2-3 of the Offshore Energy Act. Winners of the competition will, after a maturation phase, have the opportunity to participate in a competition for state aid for the projects.
The Draft Investment Support Agreement for Floating Offshore Wind in Utsira Nord is published below as appendix 9. Companies considering participation in the competition may submit written questions concerning the document Draft Investment support agreement by 20 June 2025.
Questions may only be submitted by email to havvind@ed.dep.no.
The documents prepared for the announcement, some of them are only in Norwegian at the moment:
- Announcement document for Utsira Nord
- Appendix 1 – Template for application letter Utsira Nord
- Appendix 2 – Project area, grid connection and regulatory conditions for Utsira Nord
- Appendix 3 – Description of qualification requirements and qualitative criterias for Utsira Nord
- Appendix 4 – Template for cost estimate for Utsira Nord
- Appendix 5a – Template for letter of support – economic and financial capacity
- Appendix 5b – Template for letter of support – experience
- Appendix 6 – Template for financial strength
- Appendix 7 – Template for relevant experience
- Appendix 8 – Formal requirements for the application and information on the submission portal related to the competition for project areas for offshore wind in Utsira Nord
- Appendix 9 – Draft investment support agreement (See below)
- Appendix 10 – General description of the support mechanism and competition for state aid
- Appendix 11 – Template for confirmation of obligation to be liable for liquidated damages (to be published at a later date)
- Appendix 12 – Format for demand guarantee (to be published at a later date)
- Appendix 13 – Detailed auction rules (to be published at a later date)
Feedback on the Investment Support Agreement
A draft Investment Support Agreement for state aid to floating offshore wind in Utsira Nord is published below. Companies considering participating in the competition may submit written feedback on the draft Investment Support Agreement by 20 June 2025. The comments should be sent by email to havvind@ed.dep.no.
The Investment Support Agreement will be included as Appendix 9 to the announcement document for the competition for project areas for offshore wind in Utsira Nord.
Only in Norwegian:
Q&A regarding the announcement
After announcement, all communication with the Ministry regarding the announcement shall only take place by email to havvind@ed.dep.no. Enquiries made via other channels will not be answered.
Companies considering participation in the competition may submit written questions concerning the documents during the period from 26 May to 15 June 2025. Each company must appoint one representative to submit questions. Questions may only be submitted by email to havvind@ed.dep.no, and will be answered on an ongoing basis. Sender, question and answer will be made available on this page.
All information regarding the competition, including questions and answers, as well as any amendments, will be published on this page (only in Norwegian):
The application must be submitted digitally via the application portal for offshore wind on www.altinn.no.
Meeting on the Licensing Process and Grid Connection of Utsira Nord
The working group “Infrastructure and Offshore Grid” under the Offshore Wind Collaboration Forum is organizing an informational meeting for stakeholders about the licensing process and grid connection of Utsira Nord on June 16th from 12:00 to 16:00 at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (Næringslivets hus).
Registration can be done via the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/2H1QwA6wJ1
Determination of project area
The Ministry hereby establishes the following three project areas in the Utsira Nord area, cf. Section 2a of the Offshore Energy Act Regulation. The installed capacity in each project area cannot exceed 500 MW.
Competition for the award of a project areas
Project areas will be awarded through a qualitative competition based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria, cf. Section 2-3 of the Offshore Energy Act.
The Ministry has set qualification requirements that applicants must meet in order to be eligible for the award of project areas. Applicants who meet the requirements will be ranked according to the qualitative criteria.
The three applicants who receive the highest overall score in the qualitative competition will each be awarded a project area. The applicant with the highest score will be awarded their preferred project area, the applicant with the second highest score will be awarded their preferred project area among the remaining two project areas, and the applicant with the third highest score will be awarded the last project area.
The deadline for submission of applications is 15 September 2025 at 12.00pm.
Competition for state aid
The Storting has granted consent for the Ministry to enter into commitments for support to floating offshore wind in Vestavind F and Vestavind B, provided that the total state commitments do not exceed a cost framework of NOK 35 billion (2025 value), cf. Resolution 385 of 19 December 2024.
The applicants that have been awarded project areas, and that have further developed and matured these, will subsequently be granted access to compete for state aid. The state aid competition will be arranged so that one project receive state aid.
The competition for state aid will take place through an auction with a sealed-bid process, in which bidders are permitted to submit only one final offer. The winner of the competition is the applicant submitting the lowest bid to realize their project (in aid/MW). It will not be possible to submit a bid exceeding the upper limit for state aid as stipulated by the Storting’s resolution on the cost framework. The detailed rules of the competition will be published well in advance of the date on which the competition for state aid is to be held.
The winner of the competition for state aid will be awarded state aid in the form of investment aid. The winner shall establish, operate, and own an energy facility with an installed capacity as close to 500 MW, given the selected turbine size, but not exceeding a maximum of 500 MW.
The project that does not receive state aid may apply for an extension of the exclusive right to the project area, cf. Section 11 of the Offshore Energy Act Regulation.
Schedule
| Activity | Date |
| Announcement published | 19 May 2025 |
| Period for submission of questions | 26 May – 15 June 2025 |
| Deadline for submission of applications | 15 september 2025 at 12:00pm |
| Award of project areas | Tentatively in the first half of 2026 |