Vestavind F is a designated floating offshore wind area on the Norwegian continental shelf off the southwest coast (including the Utsira Nord extension). National authorities and agencies have advanced the site through strategic impact assessment, targeted bathymetric and environmental surveys, a...
On 11 December 2025, the Ministry of Energy announced that two Utsira Nord project areas within the Vestavind F zone will be awarded to consortia led by Equinor Utsira Nord AS and Vårgrønn Utsira Nord AS, and by Harald Hårfagre AS (Deep Wind Offshore Norway AS and EDF Renouvelables International SAS), which must now carry out project-specific impact assessments and licence applications before one of them competes for investment support of up to NOK 35 billion.
In June 2025, NVE presented the final part of its strategic impact assessment for 20 potential offshore wind areas, including Vestavind F, consolidating analyses of technical-economic suitability and environmental and societal consequences to inform future government decisions on opening new offshore wind areas.
On 19 May 2025, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy formally opened the competition for three 500 MW floating offshore wind project areas in Utsira Nord, a floating wind zone located within the Vestavind F area, inviting developers to apply for development rights under the Ocean Energy Act.
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Vestavind F floating wind area, NVE study area Vestavind F, Vestavind F offshore wind area
In February 2025, the Ministry of Energy decided provisionally not to proceed with any additional offshore wind tenders in 2025 beyond Utsira Nord, meaning that tenders for other areas assessed in the strategic impact assessment, such as Vestavind F, would be deferred.
On 5 December 2024, Norwegian authorities placed the strategic impact assessment for offshore wind in the areas Sørvest F, Vestavind B and Vestavind F out for public consultation. The consultation invites comments on NVE’s assessment of technical-economic suitability and environmental and societal impacts in these areas, which will inform future decisions on offshore wind area openings and tendering.
In November 2024, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) delivered the first part of the strategic impact assessment for offshore wind, covering three areas including Vestavind F (Utsira Nord). This strategic assessment (SKU) evaluates technical, environmental and socio-economic aspects of expanding offshore wind in these areas and serves as input for government decisions on future area openings and tenders.
In 2024, NVE completed a strategic impact assessment for Vestavind F covering area and capacity expansion, concluding that the site is suitable for floating offshore wind and estimating a levelised cost of energy of 136 øre/kWh for a wind farm in the area.
As part of the 2024 strategic impact assessment for Vestavind F, NVE mapped key technical and system constraints, including water depths of 200–287 metres, predominantly soft seabed sediments with localized hard masses, prevailing wind directions and gradients in energy potential, spatial variation in energy costs, and onshore grid connection limits and reinforcement needs identified together with Statnett.
In November 2024, NVE delivered the first part of its strategic impact assessment for offshore wind, covering the three areas Sørvest F, Vestavind B and Vestavind F (which includes Utsira Nord), evaluating technical-economic suitability and environmental and societal impacts to support decisions on which areas to open for development.
On 7 October 2024, the Norwegian government proposed a NOK 35 billion (around EUR 3 billion) state aid support scheme dedicated to the first commercial floating offshore wind tender in the Vestavind F and Vestavind B areas, as part of its plan to allocate 30 GW of offshore wind by 2040.
On 28 June 2024, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy opened a public consultation on a proposed state aid support scheme for floating offshore wind projects in the Vestavind B and Vestavind F areas, including Utsira Nord. The consultation covers the allocation model and support instruments for these areas, with stakeholders invited to submit input by 23 August 2024.
On 14 September 2023, the Norwegian Government announced that new offshore wind areas, including Vestavind F as an expansion of Utsira Nord alongside Sørvest F and Vestavind B, will be opened by 2025 as part of the national offshore wind build-out.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) formally identified Vestavind F, located in the North Sea off Rogaland, as one of the national offshore wind areas, publishing it on a map of "Identifiserte områder for havvind" dated 24 April 2023.
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