Latest news with #TerjeAasland
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon arrives in Ukraine in historic visit
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway arrived in Ukraine on May 20, marking the first visit by a member of the Norwegian royal family during Russia's invasion. The Norwegian heir to the throne arrived by train on the morning of May 20, accompanied by Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland. They were welcomed by Norwegian Ambassador Helene Sand Andresen and Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Mishchenko. As part of his visit, the crown prince is scheduled to meet Ukrainian officials and Norwegian partners and visit facilities receiving support from Norway's Nansen Program, the Norwegian government said in a statement. The Nansen Program is Oslo's primary initiative for delivering military and civilian aid, committing 205 billion Norwegian krone ($20 billion) in support to Ukraine between 2023 and 2030. Haakon also visited a memorial for fallen soldiers in Moshchun in Kyiv Oblast and a hospital to meet injured Ukrainian soldiers. "The visit is an expression of Norway's strong and ongoing support for the Ukrainian government and people," the Norwegian Royal House said in a statement. It marks the first visit by a Norwegian royal family member since the visit of Haakon's spouse, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, in 2008. Read also: As Russia's fiber optic drones flood the battlefield, Ukraine is racing to catch up We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norway Bets Big on Offshore Wind
Norway announced on Monday a tender for three project areas for floating offshore wind in a highly-anticipated first competition for this type of renewable energy in the Nordic country. The Norwegian Energy Ministry, which said earlier this year that it would bet on floating wind instead of fixed-bottom offshore wind, is now opening competition for project areas for offshore wind in Utsira Nord outside the coast of Rogaland off Norway's southwest coast. The installed capacity in each project area cannot exceed 500 megawatts (MW), according to the competition tender, in which applications for projects will be received until September 15, 2025. Norway will subsidize the projects, for a total of $3.4 billion (35 billion Norwegian crowns) cap for state aid at Utsira Nord. Winning bids will have two years to mature their projects and participate in an auction for state aid as a direct grant in 2028 or 2029. The model for allocating project areas and government support – developed in dialogue with the offshore industry – is adapted to floating offshore wind and will contribute to both technology development and cost reductions for subsequent projects, Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement. Earlier this year, Norway scrapped plans to hold a fixed-bottom offshore wind tender at the Sørvest F offshore area in 2025, due to high costs to connect power to the grid. Instead of fixed-bottom offshore wind at Sørvest F, the Norwegian government will prioritize floating wind in the tenders with radial links to the grid, the energy ministry said in February. Norway's floating wind tender comes as the global offshore wind industry continues to face significant headwinds relating to supply chain, regulatory, and macroeconomic developments. Orsted, the world's biggest offshore wind project developer, earlier this month warned of a continued challenging environment for the industry. Due to higher costs and interest rates, the company announced it had decided to discontinue the development of the Hornsea 4 offshore wind project in the UK in its current form. By Michael Kern for More Top Reads From this article on
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Norway opens floating offshore wind tender
OSLO, May 19 (Reuters) - Norway has launched the first part of its long-awaited inaugural floating wind tender, it said on Monday, offering subsidies to the winners despite the challenges faced by the global offshore wind industry. The industry has grappled with skyrocketing costs, higher interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks, prompting governments to halt or postpone tenders due to a lack of interest from bidders. In a first step, the process foresees bidders being awarded the rights to develop commercial projects of up to 500 megawatts (MW) in capacity at the Utsira Nord site off the country's south-west coast. The winners will then have two years to mature the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies in 2028-2029, to be provided as a direct grant. "Utsira Nord is an important first step in the development of commercial floating offshore wind development on the Norwegian continental shelf," Norway's Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement. Norway has agreed to cap total subsidies at Utsira Nord at 35 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.37 billion), reflecting the technology's relative immaturity. "The model for allocating project areas and state support is adapted to floating offshore wind and will contribute to both technology development and cost reductions for subsequent projects," Aasland said. Norway is not part of the European Union but participates in the bloc's internal market, requiring it to comply with EU rules, including on state aid, a process that is managed by the EFTA surveillance authority (ESA). The latter approved Norway's proposal to tender acreage suitable for floating wind farms at Utsira Nord in April. Floating wind turbines are deemed particularly suitable for greater water depths where fixing the foundation into the seabed is not possible. Norway awarded a first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm licence in 2024 but will focus solely on floating wind farm development when it next announces new tenders. ($1 = 10.3723 Norwegian crowns)
Local Norway
15-05-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
KEY POINTS: Three things you need to know about Norway's revised 2025 budget
Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg unveiled the Norwegian revised budget on Thursday. Among the key figures was the government's plan to spend 542 billion kroner from the country's 'oil fund'. The government can use revenues from the Government Pension Fund Global, where the country invests its oil and gas revenues, for public spending. The revised figure for 2025 was around 50 billion kroner more than the initial spending figure given by the government for the initial budget for 2025 But what does the budget mean for you, and what have the experts said? More details on the fixed-energy price scheme The government plans to introduce a scheme, dubbed 'Norgespris', that would offer households a fixed energy price throughout the year, offering an alternative to the current subsidy scheme. 'The Norwegian Price is an important measure to enable people in the country to choose to have more predictable electricity costs in a time of fluctuating and sometimes very high electricity prices,' Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said in a statement. Under the scheme, households that sign up will pay a fixed price of 0.40 øre per kilowatt-hour before network rental and fees. There would also be a consumption limit of 4,000 kilowatt hours per month. The government expects 70 percent of homes in southern Norway to sign up to the scheme , and has estimated that the average home in the Southwest Norway (NO2) energy region will receive government support equivalent to 5,200 kroner in 2026. Advertisement Inflation lower than expected Annual inflation for 2025 is expected to be 2.8 percent, down from the original 3 percent estimate. 'Inflation has come down , and in April, consumer price inflation was 2.5 percent. Together with good wage growth, this is improving households' purchasing power,' the government wrote in its report on the key budget figures. There was also good news in regard to unemployment, as the government expects it to remain low moving forward. What have the experts said? In the lead-up to the budget's release, Stoltenberg said the government would adopt a restrained policy. While that certainly applies to the policies unveiled in the budget, economists were less sure about how restrained the proposals were fiscally. 'It is not a disaster budget, considering that a lot of the increased spending is due to support for Ukraine. But in my opinion, it is going a bit in the wrong direction,' economics professor Ola Honningdal Grytten told public broadcaster NRK . While chief economist at Sparebank 1 SR bank, Kyrre Knudsen, also commented on the use of oil money by the government, he also said there was some potential good news for those hoping for lower interest rates. Advertisement 'This is good news. The government is assuming slightly lower inflation than [the central bank] Norges Bank's projections. In general, this means faster interest rate cuts,' he told NRK. Frank Jullum at Danske Bank told business and financial site E24 that the budget should be considered 'neutral' for the economy, as the increased oil spending will mostly be money sent to Ukraine. 'This should not have any effects on monetary policy,' he said. 'There is more spending, but much should not be spent in Norway. The Storting [Norway's parliament] agrees with this, and we economists can agree that money that is not spent in Norway will not stimulate the Norwegian economy,' he added.
Local Norway
10-03-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
How will the Norwegian government's plan for a fixed energy price work?
The Norwegian government submitted its plans for a fixed energy price of 40 øre per kilowatt hour for households for consultation on Monday. The scheme has been dubbed 'Norgespris' by the government, and it could be introduced later this year. 'Introducing the Norgespris is about providing security and creating predictability for people's electricity costs,' energy minister Terje Aasland said. What is the Norgespris scheme? The aim of Norgespris is to provide an alternative to the current energy subsidy scheme that the government introduced in 2021. Instead of subsiding 90 percent of the spot price (the raw energy cost) over 75 øre per kWh, consumers can opt for a fixed price of 40 øre per kWh. How will it work? More details were unveiled on Monday, and the cap of 40 øre per kWh will be the price without VAT and charges for being connected to the energy network. The fixed price will apply to residential and holiday homes in Norway. However, the government still has some key points to iron out. It wants to introduce a cap on the amount of energy covered by the fixed price – to ensure energy isn't wasted by households – but isn't sure of the exact figure. One of the aims of the consultation phase, where experts and the public can weigh in on the proposal, is to try and determine a suitable figure for the energy consumption cap. Once a cap is established, any consumption over this figure will not be covered by the fixed-price deal. Currently the government is unsure whether a cap of 5,000 kWh per month would be suitable and whether it should be lower, according to government figures only four percent of homes have higher consumption than this. While a limit hasn't been established, it looks like the government intends to give cabins and leisure homes a lower cap than residential properties. Those who opt to sign up for the fixed energy price should also expect it to be a binding agreement until the end of the year you signed up or the end of the year after you signed up if you opt in after October. This means that if the average energy price is below 40 øre per kilowatt hour, you may be better off without the energy deal, this will mostly apply to homes in central and northern Norway which enjoy the country's cheapest energy prices. The price of fixed price deals could change in the future. However, the price of 40 øre per kWh will not be changed before January 1st 2027. What happens next? The proposal has been sent out for consultation and will last until April 21st. Once the consultation is done, it will have to pass through a committee and then through parliament before coming into effect. The government hopes to have the scheme ready for households from October 1st and intends to have it last until December 31st, 2029. If the scheme comes into action, it will not replace the current energy subsidy scheme, and the two will coexist. One thing to note is that there is a general election in September, and a right-wing majority looks like a more likely outcome. This means the scheme may be scrapped or changed before it comes into effect.
