Corio, Å Energi Enter Strategic Partnership on Offshore Wind

Corio Generation and Norwegian energy company Å Energi, which have already partnered on a proposal for the Norwegian Utsira Nord floating wind tender, have signed an agreement on a strategic partnership that will see the two companies partnering on offshore wind in a broader sense.

Under the agreement, Norway’s Å Energi and the UK-based Corio, a standalone portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management, will work together as preferred partners, on an exclusive basis, for upcoming Norwegian offshore wind tenders and will also explore opportunities for further projects in markets across the Nordics and Northern Europe.

The companies have already joined forces in the Nordvegen Vind consortium which is exploring the opportunity to develop a floating wind farm in the Utsira Nord area off the west coast of Norway, which the Norwegian government plans to auction next year.

According to a press release from the two partners, the newly established strategic partnership builds upon their cooperation in exploring a Utsira Nord project and capitalises on combining Corio’s international offshore wind expertise with Å Energi’s strong market position within the Nordics.

The companies are also collaborating on other initiatives in progressing offshore wind development in Norway, including the National Competency Centre for Offshore Wind and Norwegian Offshore Wind’s Accelerator programme.

Last year, Corio, Å Energi, and Norwegian developer Vårgrønn set up the Brigg Vind consortium that was eyeing Norway’s first tender for the Sørlige Nordsjø II (Southern North Sea II) area, which was later secured by Parkwind.

For the broader geographic area of their strategic cooperation, Corio and Å Energi noted the 2050 offshore wind target that the North Sea countries have set, with much of this new offshore wind capacity expected to come from floating wind.