Japan’s ENEOS Joins Floating Offshore Wind Project in Norway

September 18, 2024, by Adnan Memija

ENEOS Renewable Energy (ERE), the renewable arm of the Japanese energy giant ENEOS Holdings, has become a partner in the GoliatVIND floating offshore wind project in Norway by acquiring a 20 per cent shareholding in the project from Odfjell Oceanwind.

This is ERE’s first overseas offshore wind project and the second floating offshore wind farm after the Gotō City offshore wind project.

The new partnership on GoliatVIND is Source Galileo Norge (40 per cent), Odfjell Oceanwind (20 per cent), Kansai Electric Power (20 per cent), and ERE (20 per cent).

Located on the border between the northern Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea, GoliatVIND is a 75 MW demonstration project for floating offshore wind with grid connection via the Goliat FPSO to the Hammerfest region and with onshore grid reservation in place with Statnett and Lucerna.

Currently, there are plans for five floating wind turbines of 15 MW each, planned to be installed five to eleven kilometres from the Goliat platform.

The project is located at a water depth of around 400 metres which is ideal for the design of Odfjell Oceanwinds’ floating wind foundation, Deepsea Star, the company said.

GoliatVIND received a grant of NOK 2 billion (about USD 185 million) from the Norwegian state enterprise ENOVA SF earlier this year, under a programme aiming to demonstrate and reduce floating offshore wind costs.

The offshore wind project is planned to be in operation in 2028, depending on how the Ministry of Oil and Energy lays out the licensing process. In this way, the experience can be used in Norway’s future floating offshore wind investment, including at Utsira Nord, according to Odfjell Oceanwind.