Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 181
Offshore Wind Worldwide 2023
3. PUBLIC LAW AND
REGULATORY PERMITS
3.1 Spatial planning at sea
As a first step towards the establishment of
an offshore wind farm, the area in question
needs to be opened for offshore wind development through a resolution by the King
in Council, in practice meaning the sitting
government. As part of this process, the government will perform initial assessments of
the suitability of the area, including effects
on other potential conflicting interests such
as wildlife and environment, shipping, military, petroleum exploitation, etc.
In 2020, a decision was made to open the
areas of Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II
for applications for offshore renewable energy production. In March 2023, the government announced that the areas for offshore
wind development in Utsira Nord and Sørli-
181
ge Nordsjø II would be opened for tender,
and the allocation of the development areas
is expected to be completed by the end
of 2023. Different allocation models have
been chosen for these areas, fundamentally
based on the difference in maturity between
bottom-fixed and floating wind projects.
The first phase of Sørlige Nordsjø II is a project area with a minimum of 1,400 MW and a
maximum of 1,500 MW of installed capacity. The area is suitable for construction of
bottom-fixed installations. The project is set
to be connected to the Norwegian onshore
grid through a radial connection, with a maximum grid connection access of 1,400 MW
in the onshore grid. The first phase of Sørlige
Nordsjø II will be awarded through pre-qualification and a monetary auction with open
bidding. The subject of the auction will be
a two-sided contract for difference (CFD),
awarded to the winner of the auction.
[Source: Equinor,
Equinor/https://www.equinor.com/no/energi/sorlige-nordsjo-2]
