The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy states in a press release that it has received seven applications to participate in the auction for the Sørlige Nordsjø II offshore wind project area.

”Despite recent large cost increases for the global offshore wind industry, several strong players are applying to participate in the Sørlige Nordsjø II auction round. ”This is important for the government’s offshore wind initiative. We are now starting to assess the various applications,” says Terje Aasland, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, in a press release.

The ministry will pre-qualify a minimum of six and a maximum of eight applicants. If there were fewer than six applicants, the ministry would consider whether to proceed with the auction.

On the 29th of March this year, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced the first tenders for offshore wind project areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The deadline to apply to participate in the auction for offshore wind in Sørlige Nordsjø II area was Nov. 15, at 12:00.

In the application, the applicant must demonstrate that they fulfil the minimum criteria for sustainability and positive ripple effects. In addition, the applicant must be assessed on the pre-qualification criterion of implementation capacity.

The Ministry will announce as soon as possible which applicants are qualified to participate in the auction. The tentative auction date is February 2024.