The seminar was held on Tuesday January 19 at Millbank Tower in London, the exact spot where The Crown Estate announced just a few weeks earlier that Statkraft, Statoil, RWE npower and Scottish and Southern Energy had been awarded the rights to develop the gigantic wind power zone Dogger Bank off the English east coast.

Opportunities for Norwegian industries

“Norway benefited greatly from the collaboration with the British petroleum industry when we started developing the oil resources in the North Sea back in the 1970s. Now the turn has come to Norway to contribute as the UK is to develop wind power off their own coast. Many Norwegian companies have expertise which can help realize the new British low emission economy,” Giske said during the seminar.

Giske believes Norwegian ship owners, offshore ship yards, technology companies, metal and composites manufacturers, as well as research institutions may be able to get contracts for marine wind power, where there is a need for a significant technology development in coming years.

Norway as the battery of Europe

Statkraft chairman Arvid Grundekjøn pointed out the possibility of using Norwegian hydropower to supplement British wind power during low-wind periods. Norway holds 50 per cent of the European reservoir capacity, and can as a result, be a back-up battery for the British.
“There are a number of cables planned between Norway, the UK and the rest of Europe, something which we in Statkraft look forward to,” Grundekjøn said.

Maria McCaffery of the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) believes Statkraft paves the way for other international companies.

Sarah Rhodes of the British Department of Energy and Climate Change and Maria McCaffery of British Wind Energy Association also spoke at the seminar. Both thanked Statkraft for its renewable energy enterprises in the UK.
“Statkraft is a very welcome player who paves the way for other international companies. We depend on external investors to achieve the transition to a more eco-friendly energy production,” McCaffery said.

Two new licenses

Dogger Bank was just one of the triumphs celebrated at the London seminar. Before Christmas, Statkraft opened its first UK wind farm - Alltwalis in Wales. Since New Year, Statkraft has been awarded another two licenses for land-based wind power: Baillie in Scotland (up to 53 MW) and Barmoor in England (up to 18 MW) – both were developed in cooperation with various partners.

This means Statkraft now holds five land-based wind power licenses in the UK. In addition, we are developing the offshore wind farm Sheringham Shoal (318 MW) which we are developing together with Statoil – and as mentioned, the right to develop the Dogger Bank, which has a potential of 9000 to 13 000 MW, divided between various projects which will be developed for licenses.

Tidal power and energy trading

And as if that was not enough, Statkraft is developing a number of tidal power projects in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and there is a team at the London office working with trading and origination. The latter trades the energy generated at the Alltwalis wind farm and our three hydropower plants in Rheidol, Wales (56 MW).

About 150 invited guests from British businesses, authorities and Statkraft were present at the seminar. A number of journalists were also interested in Statkraft’s activities on the British isles – including the Financial Times and The Economist.

The seminar was organised in cooperation with the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce and the Norwegian embassy in London.