Norway has today announced that it will award the rights to develop the first phase of Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord by the end of 2023. Sørlige Nordsjø II will be auctioned out in a single block with a minimum capacity of 1400 MW and a maximum capacity of 1500 MW. Furthermore, Utsira Nord will be auctioned out as three 500 MW lease areas, where two of the three projects will be awarded a state aid and an option to increase the capacity of the projects to 750 MW.

Norway will include the quantifying of carbon emissions from offshore wind farms as a requirement in the pre-qualification of the tender. The details proposed from the pre-qualification criteria are more comprehensive than any previous tender when it comes to the carbon footprint from offshore wind farms.

Momentum around quantifying sustainability criteria in offshore bids is gaining ground. Denmark is currently holding a public consultation around environmental criteria for its upcoming lease rounds for Nordsjøen I, Kattegat II and Kriegers Flak II.

Image credit: NTB