Utsira Nord, Norway – A dynamic offshore wind consortium committed to advancing Norwegian renewable energy has been expanded. The UtsiraVIND Consortium, originated as a partnership between ODFJELL OCEANWIND, a market-leading Norwegian provider of floating offshore wind technologies and SOURCE GALILEO, a fast-growing European renewable energy platform, concentrating on offshore wind development.
Today, this partnership, has been further strengthened with KANSAI, one of the largest Japanese utilities, and Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, joining the partnership. Both Kansai and Ingka Investments are major global investors in renewable energy and in offshore wind in Europe. This expanded consortium will be bidding into the Utsira Nord floating offshore wind tender process in September 2023.
Driven by the shared vision of a greener energy future, the consortium brings together proprietary technology in floating structures, electrical engineering, financial strength, and extensive offshore wind experience. By pooling their knowledge and strengths, they seek to make a relevant contribution to develop new offshore wind farms in Norway and also to make Norwegian floating wind a globally cost-competitive energy supply solution.
The Consortium will now seek to progress their bid in the upcoming Utsira tender process to develop, build and operate a floating wind park on Utsira Nord using Odfjell Oceanwind’s proprietary solutions. The Utsira Nord seabed lies 32km offshore in the North Sea where floating wind turbines in water depths of 180 to 280m are foreseen to be developed in the first round for a total capacity of 1.5GW.
"We are thrilled to join forces with such esteemed partners who share our passion for renewable energy," said Gunnar Birkeland, CEO of Source Galileo’s Norwegian business. "This collaboration allows us to leverage our respective strengths to deliver UtsiraVIND and put Norway at the forefront of floating offshore wind globally”.
“We have had a very real interest in Norwegian technology for some time and this partnership is ideally placed to position Kansai to bring the knowledge and experience obtained into the Japanese market. We’re excited to partner and collaborate on UtsiraVIND and will be dedicated to promoting this project by dispatching our engineers to Norway” said Mikio Matsumura, Senior Executive Vice President of Kansai.
“The UtsiraVIND partnership is ideally placed to deliver a highly effective bid for the Utsira Nord tender”, said Per Lund, CEO of Odfjell Oceanwind, “the operational expertise and financial strengths of Kansai and Ingka Investments will help us accelerate the achievement of offshore wind in Norway.”
“This partnership is a further step to expand our investment activities to address climate footprint reduction well beyond our retail consumption, and into the IKEA value chain. We are looking forward to working closely with our Utsira partners to make a significant contribution to the Norwegian Government’s renewable energy goals,” said Frederik de Jong, Head of Renewable Energy at Ingka Investments.
The consortium's combined portfolio includes an array of renewable projects across Norway and Europe. Their track record demonstrates their unwavering commitment to excellence, safety, and environmental stewardship.
Augusta & Co acted as financial advisers to Source Galileo in expanding the consortium partnership.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sara Alvsaker
Communication Advisor, Apriil PR Oslo
Hausmanns gate 21, Oslo, Norway
sara.alvsaker@apriil.no
+47 456 34 558
About Utsira Nord
Norway’s ambition is to allocate areas for 30,000 MW offshore wind production by 2040. On 29 March 2023, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in Norway announced a competition for a project area for floating offshore wind in Utsira Nord. The Utsira Nord area is located off the coast of Rogaland, Norway.
The Norwegian ministry divides the Utsira Nord area into three project areas. Installed power in each project area must be a minimum of 460 MW and a maximum of 500 MW, with a potential extension of 250 MW for each area. The deadline for submitting applications is 1 September 2023. Expected allocation of project areas is December 2023.
About Odfjell Oceanwind
Odfjell Oceanwind is a Norwegian floating offshore wind specialist that combines Odfjell’s 50 years of maritime tradition and experience in designing, building and operating floating units in harsh environments with more than 20 years of experience in developing floating offshore wind solutions. Odfjell Oceanwind has offices in Bergen, Stavanger, Oslo and Aberdeen.
About Source Galileo
Source Galileo ltd is a European renewable energy developer with an interest in long-term ownership of renewable energy projects. The business has a major focus on offshore wind development and is also developing solar, battery, hydrogen, and grid projects. Source Galileo’s Norwegian business is based in Haugesund and is focused totally on floating offshore wind. Other Source Galileo main offices are located in Dublin & London.
About The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
The Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc. (Kansai), established in 1951, is Japan’s leading energy company with consolidated total assets of c. EUR 55 billion. Kansai has expanded its overseas electric power business to 22 overseas projects across 11 countries by deploying the expertise of Kansai cultivated over the years. Kansai announced “Zero Carbon Vision 2050” in 2021 to commit to zero carbon emissions in 2050 and launched the “Zero Carbon Roadmap” in 2022 where Kansai sets out the target to develop a 5 GW scale of new domestic renewable energy (9 GW scale of cumulative capacity) by 2040.
About Ingka Group With IKEA retail operations in 31 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on ingka.com.
