Norwegian Construction Firm Sets Sights on Offshore Wind

Norwegian construction firm Veidekke said Monday it has set its sights on the offshore wind market, with the company planning to become a key part of the value chain for floating offshore wind.

The company said it was already participating in a larger feasibility study to specifically look into “how the floating foundations for the wind turbines can be resolved.”

“Offshore wind is very interesting field where we want to be a part of emerging developments. At Veidekke we have very extensive expertise in concrete, slipforming, structures above and below water and project management, which all are critical factors in this type of project,” says EVP Øivind Larsen with Veidekke Infrastruktur.

The Norwegian government, through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, has in the Roadmap – The Green Industrial Initiative stated that Norway “will become a leading nation in offshore wind with an industry that develops and builds state-of-the-art wind power solutions.”

Its ambition is to allocate areas with a potential for 30 gigawatts of offshore wind production on the Norwegian continental shelf by 2040.

Veidekke said that to exploit the winds at sea, robust infrastructure is required in addition to turbines with foundations. Each individual foundation is estimated to have a concrete volume of around 5,000 m3 and 1,500 tons of reinforcement, Veidekke said.

“These are large structures that require a lot of know-how, quality, experience and ability to execute. Through a feasibility study, we will look into where in the value chain we can add the most value. We have unique concrete expertise in Veidekke, and particularly our Veidekke Interform department and their slipforming experience gives us a head start on this,” says project director Dan Granerud who will head Veidekke’s offshore wind initiative.