Norway's energy minister to hold floating wind meeting - report

The energy minister of Norway will discuss the topic of floating offshore wind development off the country’s coasts at a meeting with companies on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The regulatory framework needed to spur the sector is among the topics for the meeting. Minister Terje Soeviknes told the news agency he hopes to have a proposal ready in the autumn.

In December 2017, the Norwegian government unveiled plans to open one or two sites for the development of floating offshore wind projects.

The global offshore wind capacity surpassed 18.8 GW at end-2017, with just 2 MW in Norway, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Floating wind is still in its infancy, but the technology is crucial for tapping the huge offshore wind potential in deep waters.

The world's first floating wind farm, the 30-MW Hywind Scotland park off Aberdeenshire, Scotland, achieved an average capacity factor of about 65% during November, December and January. Norwegian oil and gas group Equinor (OSE:EQNR), former Statoil, operates the wind farm together with partner Masdar.

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