In brief
Norway’s state agency Enova has disbursed $425 million in conditional grants to Fortius Offshore Wind and Fram Wind Solutions for floating wind projects off Karmoy, each installing 18.5‑MW turbines to test key cost‑reduction technologies. The projects are expected to generate about 300 million kWh annually, enough for 15,000 homes, and were chosen through a competitive process that weighed output, potential for wider adoption, environmental impacts and cost‑reduction prospects.
On Friday, October 30, 2026, the Norwegian state‑owned enterprise Enova announced it had awarded 3.94 billion Norwegian kroner (≈ $425 million) in conditional funding to two floating offshore wind demonstration projects slated for the southwestern coastline off Karmoy.
The award, exchanged for roughly $216 million allocated to Fortius Offshore Wind and $209 million to Fram Wind Solutions, covers a five‑year deployment of four 18.5‑megawatt floating turbines built by the two companies.
Both projects will be situated on the METCentre’s demonstration site, where the four turbines are expected to produce a combined 300 million kilowatt‑hours of electricity per year—enough to supply the annual consumption of roughly 15,000 households.
Enova’s objective is to trim the costs of floating foundations, mooring systems and construction‑and‑operation practices, thereby rendering the technology commercially viable and more attractive for broader deployment.
The projects were chosen through a competitive process in which Enova assessed each applicant’s projected electricity output relative to the funding, the potential for wider industrial adoption, environmental impacts, and prospects for future cost reductions.
CEO Comment
Enova Chief Executive Evy Glorstad stated that making floating offshore wind commercially viable could accelerate large-scale renewable energy development, help Norwegian industry, and reduce transport emissions, although she did not quantify the anticipated impact.
While the funding is a significant step toward de‑risking floating wind, the projects remain contingent on successful implementation and subject to Enova’s disbursement conditions; their progress will be tracked as the turbines advance through construction and commissioning phases.
Uncertainties that Enova and industry observers already flag include the actual performance of floating foundations and mooring systems under extended operational conditions, the timeline for deployment, and the extent to which cost savings realized in these pilots will translate into commercially competitive, scaled‑up projects in the near future.
