Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 188
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7. OTHER
7.1 Compensation for commercial fishers
If development of the offshore wind farm
in an area occupies, pollutes, or damages a
fishing ground, the state is required to compensate for the financial loss incurred due to
the impossibility or significant impediments
to the fishing activities. In addition, the wind
farm developer will be liable for any pollution caused.
7.2 Compensation for pollution
The licensee, regardless of fault, bears liability for the financial loss arising from pollution
and waste. The licensee is also responsible
for the expenses incurred in implementing
reasonable measures to prevent or mitigate
such damage or loss.
The liability also applies to pollution and
waste from supply or support vessels, as
well as to the transport or construction of
energy facilities.
7.3 Tax
According to the general rules of the
Norwegian Tax Act, wind power and other
renewable energy resources is subject to
income taxation for companies tax-resident
in Norway. However, individuals and companies tax-resident abroad do not have such
tax liability when their activities take place
outside the Norwegian territorial waters. The
Norwegian Ministry of Finance has proposed amendments to the tax legislation whereby also foreign entities utilizing renewable
energy resources on the Norwegian continental shelf will be tax liable to Norway.
Norway
Resource rent taxation on location-specific
natural resources with extraordinary returns
is a fundamental part of the Norwegian tax
system, applicable to i.e., petroleum exploitation and hydropower production. Considering the current prospects for costs and
power prices for offshore wind, the current
Norwegian government has stated that no
resource rent tax regime will be imposed on
the first offshore wind projects.
7.4 Offshore wind for electrification
of petroleum installations
Due to the need to reduce emissions from
oil and gas production on the Norwegian
continental shelf, offshore wind is also
increasingly being considered a feasible
solution to provide clean energy directly to
existing oil and gas platforms. Offshore wind
typically serves as an alternative to electrification of platforms by connecting them to
the onshore grid.
Offshore wind projects developed specifically for electrification of petroleum installations fall outside the scope of the Norwegian Offshore Energy Act. Such projects
may alternatively be subject to a licensing
process under the Norwegian Petroleum
Act. This licensing process will typically not
be subject to competition through an open
tender process. However, a prerequisite for
licensing of offshore wind projects under a
petroleum license is typically that the wind
farm is located near existing petroleum
installations and not connected to the onshore grid. The Hywind Tampen project is an
example of a project established under the
petroleum licensing regime. Hywind Tampen
is a floating offshore wind farm supplying
