St1 Norge, the Norwegian subsidiary of Finnish energy company St1 Nordic, has agreed to set up a joint venture with a consortium consisting of Vindkraft Nord and Ny Energi to jointly develop two wind projects in northern Norway.
The joint venture, Grenselandet JV, will be responsible for managing wind farm development projects, with a combined capacity of 900MW, in the Lebesby and Tana municipalities in Finnmark county.
As part of this effort, Grenselandet will initially focus on the development work and the environmental impact assessment for over an estimated 3-year period for the 700MW Davvi project and 200MW Borealis wind farm.
Grenselandet will determine the further steps for the projects based on the results of process.
Grenselandet project manager Harald Dirdal said: “The project will strengthen the central grid eastwards, and thereby secure a supply of renewable energy for the region.
“This project, along with the proposed grid concept, will enable development of energy-intensive industries. The project will provide Finnmark with the opportunity to contribute to the national emissions target by exploiting their good wind conditions.”
Grenselandet will have 50% stake in the Borealis project while Finnmark Kraft owns the remaining share.
St1 Norge said that the location of the two wind farm has potential to connect them to both the Norwegian and Finnish grids.
The firm noted that the Borealis project could be developed without subsidies from government.
Norwea CEO Øyvind Isachsen said: “This potentially marks a shift – we are now entering the times of subsidy free renewable energy development.”
Upon commissioning, the two wind projects are expected to produce 3.6 terawatt hours of clean electricity annually.
Image: St1 Norge intends to build wind farms in Norway. Photo: courtesy of dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.