Delayed deadlines and changes to the SN II and UN competitions
The deadline for prequalification for Sørlige Nordsjø II is postponed until 15 November, and the Prequalification criteria are changed. For Utsira Nord the deadline for application is postponed to tentatively Q1 2024.
Today, 17 October 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) announced further postponements and changes to the first two offshore wind tenders in Norway, Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord. The press release can be found here.
Changes to Sørlige Nordsjø II:
- The prequalification criteria “sustainability” and “positive ripple effects” are amended from qualitative criteria to minimum requirements. The word “local” is removed from the latter criteria, to show that ripple effects do not have to be limited to Norway.
- This means that applicants no longer will be compared against each other based on these two criteria, as long as the minimum requirements are fulfilled.
- The changes have come about in order to satisfy concerns from the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) in the process of obtaining a swift approval under European state aid law.
- The application deadline is postponed from 1 November to 15 November, to enable potential bidders to accommodate the changed criteria.
Changes to Utsira Nord:
- The application deadline is postponed due to a risk of not obtaining state aid law approval from ESA with the current tender rules.
- The MPE will as soon as possible announce a new application deadline, tentatively indicated to be set within Q1 2024.