Norwegian firm eyes offshore wind parks
Norway’s energy giant Equinor sees good potential for building floating offshore wind parks in Greece as long as the country adopts a regulatory framework for the technology.
Equinor, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, operates Hywind park in Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind park, and is struggling to find new renewables projects to invest in.
In comments approved for release on Monday, Equinor’s leading business developer said the company had been exploring opportunities in Greece.
“I think the physical potential is there. There are areas with good wind, suitable water depths,” Arne Eik, Equinor’s leading business developer for floating offshore wind, told Reuters.
“Now, it’s whether there will be framework conditions that will allow developers to build a project.”
Greece wants to boost renewables in order to cut costly reliance on fossil fuel, tapping into windy conditions on its islands.
It aims to double the share of solar and wind power in electricity generation to 48 percent by 2030 from 26 percent in 2016.
Last week Greece said it would adopt a new legislative and regulatory framework to include floating offshore structures and move ahead with a pilot tender by the end of the first half next year, a message which Eik said was “encouraging.”
Under its long-term energy plan, the country aims to add 2 gigawatts to about 5 GW of installed solar and wind capacity in electricity production by 2020, targeting a total 13 GW by 2030.
[Reuters]
