A New Legislative Framework For Offshore Renewable Energy Production

With the draft Act on Offshore Renewable Energy Production, submitted to the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) in June 2009, the Government takes an important first step in facilitating offshore renewable energy production. The Act is intended to provide a unified legal framework for the construction and operation of facilities for offshore power production from renewable energy resources in Norwegian territorial waters and on and above the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Introduction

According to a study prepared for Enova, the Norwegian state enterprise set up to promote renewable energy consumption and production, Norwegian territorial waters and the Norwegian continental shelf hold an untapped technical potential for offshore wind power of a staggering 14 000 TWh/y (almost 14 times the energy value of annual Norwegian gas export). Norwegian offshore renewable energy production has hitherto been limited to experimental production and testing of prototypes. The