Utsira Nord is a planned large-scale floating offshore wind development on the Norwegian continental shelf being progressed by a consortium led by Equinor with Vårgrønn as partner. The site is part of Norway’s early commercial push into floating wind and is being progressed as a competition betwe...
Owners
On 27 March 2026, Utsira Nord Havvind DA, the Equinor (65%) and Vårgrønn (35%) project company for Utsira Nord’s southern area, submitted a notification of proposed development to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). This notification, which includes the proposed programme for the impact assessment of the up to 500 MW floating wind farm and associated grid infrastructure, constitutes the first formal step in the consenting process.
On 13 February 2026, the project company Utsira Nord Havvind DA, owned by Equinor (65%) and Vårgrønn (35%), was formally awarded Project Area 3 at Utsira Nord and granted exclusive rights to conduct an impact assessment and apply for consent for a floating offshore wind farm of up to 500 MW, including offshore grid infrastructure, landfall and connection to the existing power grid.
On 11 December 2025, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy announced that the Equinor Utsira Nord AS and Vårgrønn Utsira Nord AS consortium would be awarded one of the Utsira Nord floating offshore wind project areas, granting it a time-limited exclusive right to carry out project-specific impact assessments, complete an environmental impact assessment, and apply for a construction licence for a 500 MW project area.
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On 15 September 2025, Equinor and Vårgrønn submitted an application for the allocation of acreage for a floating offshore wind project in Utsira Nord on the Norwegian continental shelf, seeking rights to continue early-phase development with no financial commitments attached to a potential award and with project profitability stated as a prerequisite.
On 16 June 2025, Norconsult completed a specialist impact assessment report for Statnett’s "Nettilknytning Utsira Nord" project, mapping fisheries, aquaculture, shipping and infrastructure constraints for alternative 420 kV subsea cable routes and landfalls between Utsira and Karmøy, including prospective transformer station locations on Utsira, Kalstø and Ytraland that will facilitate export of power from Utsira Nord offshore wind projects such as the Equinor/Vårgrønn site.
On 29 February 2024, Statnett submitted to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) its proposed solutions for grid facilities to connect up to 1,500 MW of offshore wind from Utsira Nord, outlining alternative network configurations between Utsira and Karmøy as part of the system planning that will serve projects such as the Equinor/Vårgrønn area.
In 2021, Equinor and Vårgrønn formed a consortium to develop their Utsira Nord floating offshore wind project based on Equinor’s Hywind concept, establishing a joint development structure that will also encompass responsibility for the associated ~500 MW export connection to the Norwegian grid.
Equinor and Vårgrønn formed a consortium to develop floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord, as announced in a press release dated 6 May 2021. The partners have since been working together on the Utsira Nord project, which underpins their later bid and subsequent award of a project area for a floating wind farm of up to 500 MW.
On 6 May 2021, Equinor and Vårgrønn announced that they were teaming up to develop floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord, forming a consortium that has been working on an Utsira Nord project based on Equinor’s Hywind concept since 2021.
On 12 June 2020, the Norwegian government formally opened the Utsira Nord area off the coast of Rogaland for offshore renewable energy production, designating it as a floating offshore wind development zone that includes the future Equinor/Vårgrønn project area.
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