Plans to build Europe’s largest onshore wind farm in Norway without subsidies have been unveiled by developer Norsk Vind Energi.
The Hordavind project would come in at 1.5GW and more than 5TWh of annual power output, said the developer, which has just submitted plans for the giant wind farm to Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).
Norsk Vind Energi plans to build it in Hordaland, a county in southern Norway, with start of construction in 2023.
A study by Norwegian network operator Statnett last flagged the potential for “a large amount of new wind power” in southern Norway without subsidies, pointing to expectations for a Nordic power price around $46/MWh in 2025.
Norsk Vind Energi general manager Per Ove Skorpen said: “Wind power on land has in recent years seen a very positive cost development and Hordavind will be built without subsidies. We think Hordavind is profitable with a power price of less than 30 øre/kWh ($0.035/kWh/$35/MWh).”
At the end of 2021 Norway will leave the green certificate scheme it jointly operates with Sweden, leaving wind development to compete on price alone in a power system that is already well-served with renewable power from the country’s vast hydro-fleet.
Norsk Vind Energi said changes to legislation that allow Norwegian insurance groups to invest in domestic wind power had helped spur the potential for more local ownership of wind projects.
At 1.5GW Hordavind would come in bigger than the Fosen onshore project in central Norway that is currently set to be Europe’s largest, and outstrip the individual phases of the Markbygden complex that is set to total 4GW in neighbouring Sweden.
Europe’s largest operating onshore wind farm is the 600MW Fantanele-Cogealac in Romania.
