Norway, a wind-swept country, has a long history of energy production and export. Development of offshore wind technology is a key priority for the Norwegian government, said Ambassador Hans Jacob Frydenlund, during the inaugural session of the World Wind Energy Conference 2021.
Norway is already running on renewable energy. About 87 per cent of its electricity production is from hydropower. The production of Wind Power has been increasing rapidly. From October 2020 to October 2021, it increased by 60 per cent and around 12 per cent of Norway’s electricity production now comes from wind power.
Ambassador Frydenlund highlighted that Norway’s goal was to contribute to innovation and industry development that builds on its decades of experience from offshore oil and gas production. There were many exciting projects going on in Norway. The prototype turbine which served as the basis for the first commercial wind farm was developed in Norway.
Norway is also constructing the world’s largest floating wind farm, the Hywind Tampen. It will have a capacity of 88 MW, and will give CO2 reductions of more than 200.000 tonnes annually.
Norway is now opening offshore areas to build wind farms, with at least 4,5 GW capacity, and Norwegian energy companies as well as supplier industry has shown strong interest in developing new projects.
Norwegian companies are pioneering technologies in other areas, including solar power, floating offshore wind and energy storage. Together with other renewables, clean hydrogen and energy storage systems, Offshore wind will form a new chapter in Norway’s history as an energy nation.
Meeting our climate goals will require unprecedented levels of international cooperation, said Ambassador Frydenlund in his concluding remarks. He hoped that Indian companies would look to Norway for partners when making plans for the future and that Norwegian technology can contribute to India meeting its ambitious renewable energy targets.