French-Norwegian Offshore wind task team

Task team contacts

Ludovic Caubet
Managing Director
CCFN
caubet@ccfn.no

Eli Wærum Rognerud
Head of Export
Innovation Norway Paris
eli.rognerud@innovationnorway.no

The coming years will be crucial for offshore wind. France and Norway are amongst the countries expected to lead the offshore wind and floating wind expansion, addressing two major challenges at once: the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a fair transition to a sustainable energy system.

France has seven bottom-fixed wind farms and four floating pilots currently under development, with binding targets of 7.6 GW installed OW capacity by 2028. Commercial tenders for 250 MW floating wind are opening in 2021, with another 500 MW expected in 2022. In Norway, two areas were recently released for tenders for offshore wind expansion in the North Sea, and the first windfarm to power oil and gas installations is being developed at Hywind Tampen. In an EU-funded project including French and European partners, the first 10+ MW floating turbine will be installed at the Met Centre in Western Norway.

France and Norway both have strong industry groups with complete value chains, and a long track record of collaboration within the energy and offshore wind sectors, involving policy makers, developers, suppliers and clusters and research institutions.

As we acknowledge the opportunities but also existing challenges confronting the sector, an initiative was taken to establish a French-Norwegian industry task team on offshore wind. The team is established under the auspices of the energy group of the French-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (CCFN). It intended to be a platform for addressing concrete issues where bilateral partnership can help accelerate developments within the sector, and where execution can be facilitated, levered or accelerated through joint resources and networks.

The initiative is sponsored by the French Wind Association FEE and Team Norway France, including the CCFN, Norwegian Energy Partners (Norwep), Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Embassy and the Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster. FEE and Team Norway France will also constitute the facilitating/steering committee for the team.

French-Norwegian Offshore Wind Industry Task Team

France and Norway have a long-standing cooperation in the energy field and share the vision for a rapid transition to a carbon neutral society. Offshore wind will play a key role in this transition. French and Norwegian industry actors and institutions are therefore exploring ways to enhance and systematise bilateral exchange and collaboration in the area of offshore wind

1. Purpose

The overall objective of the task team will be to stimulate increased deployment of offshore wind in both countries and the EU at large, through bilateral exchange and collaboration. The task team will provide a forum for convening stakeholders and advancing joint initiatives aimed at knowledge sharing, technology advancement, cost reduction and/or regulatory development.

The activities initiated under the team will seek to address concrete challenges and opportunities, where industry stakeholders already have a vested interest and see potential for bilateral collaboration, and where FEE and Team Norway can help facilitate, lever or accelerate execution through their joint resources and networks.

2. Governing structure and membership

The task team is set up under the umbrella of the CCFN and the existing energy committee. The facilitating committee develops an annual work plan and facilitates activities based on request from members. The facilitating committee convenes monthly through online conversations, or as per need. Work plans, minutes of committee meetings and announcements or events are shared on the website.

There will be a simple website and list serve for information sharing and announcement of events.

Membership of the task team free of charge is open to all stakeholder of the offshore wind industry. Membership is institutional, though individuals can subscribe to newsletters and listserves. Specific events, seminars and similar organised by the task team may be charged.

Industry members should be the main drivers behind specific initiatives in the task team. However, representatives from central, regional and local authorities, institutional actors and academic/research institutions are also welcome as members and contributors. Activities and projects initiated by members of the task team must be self-financed, but the facilitating committee may advice on, co-finance or channel funds to relevant activities through their existing financing mechanisms.

3. Selected task team activities

Mapping and addressing specific technology gaps, as defined by the industry. Suggestions for themes and gaps to be prioritised may initially be solicited through a survey. Foundations, integration of turbines and floaters, dynamic cabling, substation- and network connections have been raised as possible issues.

Floating wind cost reduction is an area of particular interest and competence to both French and Norwegian industry, and one that would benefit from mutual collaboration.

Zoning, supply chain development and cross-sectoral collaboration; drawing on industry expertise from the maritime and offshore oil and gas sectors in particular. This may include efforts to enhance synergies with adjacent projects/sectors, such as hydrogen, CCS and/or Power2x.

Norms and regulation; including joint positioning and communication with policy makers, national and regional authorities, interest organisations and relevant EU and EC working groups/policy processes.

Public acceptance and communication; drawing on best practice and lessons learned from previous and ongoing processes, with the possibility of initiating join information and communication efforts

EU and national financing; using the task team to solicit strong, bilateral and international consortia for R&D, innovation and commercialisation funding under the Green Deal, Innovaiton Fund and/or Horizon Europe programme. The task team could also be used to share information on financing opportunities and incentive schemes in the two countries.

Mathchmaking; introducing potential partners and suppliers.