🇳🇴 🇩🇪 Hydro Rein will not participate in offshore wind competition in the North Sea

Press release from Norsk Hydro

Based on an overall assessment, Hydro Rein has decided not to participate in the competition to develop a large-scale, bottom-fixed offshore wind farm in the Sørlige Nordsjø II area in the Norwegian North Sea. Equinor and RWE will continue their partnership, and further develop their joint project application.

In May 2021, Equinor, RWE and Hydro Rein signed a collaboration agreement for offshore wind in Norway. The three companies have been maturing and preparing to jointly submit a thorough application for the upcoming prequalification round.

In parallel, Hydro Rein has developed a significant portfolio of onshore wind and solar projects in the Nordics and Brazil, with 1.7 GW of projects in construction and a growing pipeline currently comprising 5 GW of projects at various stages of development.

After careful consideration and based on an overall assessment of the opportunities in its portfolio and capital allocation priorities, Hydro Rein has decided not to participate in the competition for the Sørlige Nordsjø II, phase 1 project.

“This has been a tough decision to make. It has been great working with Equinor and RWE on this project and we believe they remain the best players to develop Sørlige Nordsjø II. However, in this phase of Hydro Rein’s growth, we need to prioritize other projects in our pipeline,” says Olivier Girardot, Head of Hydro Rein.

“We are convinced that Norway has all it takes to be a leading offshore wind market in the future. Offshore wind remains of interest for Hydro Rein, and as the company grows, we will continue to look for attractive development opportunities with strong partners,” says Girardot.

Equinor and RWE will continue to develop their joint project application towards the prequalification deadline in September.

About Hydro Rein

Hydro Rein is a leading provider of renewable energy solutions to industrials, fully owned by the global renewable energy and aluminium company Hydro. Hydro Rein has a diversified portfolio with 6.7 GW of projects under development in the Nordics and Brazil, and a growing pipeline of storage and energy efficiency projects. The company has an ambition of 3 GW in construction or operation (gross) by 2026, leveraging on a unique customer offering and Hydro’s century long track record in building industries that matter.

Originally published on 11 July.