Opinions: Havvind: The government is giving away billions

– This is a day of joy for Norwegian energy history, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at a press conference this week. The bid had been cancelled.

In advance, many had guessed that he would not be able to give away a penny.

The government enticed with NOK 23 billion in subsidies to get someone to build offshore wind in Norway. The analysts thought it was not enough.

But then some foreigners bet.

The company that will build is called Ventyr, it is Dutch-Belgian and is owned, among other things, by IKEA’s investment company Ingka.

They plan to spend around NOK 80 billion to build the wind farm in the south of the North Sea on the border with Denmark.

The government’s subsidies are expected to be used up in a few years.

There is nothing wrong with foreigners developing Norway. The Americans were behind our first oil platform.

The developers are also taking a risk that Norwegian companies, such as Equinor, are not willing to take.

Ventyr will probably also hire Norwegian companies, for example for foundations.

But at the same time the government runs around talking about Norwegian, Norwegian, Norwegian.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum was in the Storting to explain why he has bought a property in Meråker at a premium with oil money.

He said he followed professional advice. The purpose was to secure the property in Norwegian hands.

The government has also presented offshore wind as a Norwegian wonder.

Offshore wind will create jobs, new electricity, plus cut climate emissions!

We even have to continue with the oil, because of the sea wind, we have been told.

The expertise from the oil will be used to build a new, renewable industry.

Norway can make money by selling equipment and know-how to other countries that want to create offshore wind power.

But the foreigners are way ahead of us in this.

There will be no adventure, but primarily very expensive electricity as a result of this offshore wind farm.

People with knowledge of the Norwegian power industry speculate on how Ventyr will make this work financially, despite the subsidies.

They hope for high electricity prices and that costs will go down.

If the new park got a cable to sell electricity abroad as well, the government could get away with it cheaper.

But it was politically impossible. The Center Party wants all the power in Norway.

They would rather subsidize foreigners to develop power, than sell parts of the power abroad to bring in more money.

That would make the large subsidies unnecessary and increase the chance that a Norwegian company would take on the assignment.

The cheapest and fastest would be if the money was used for wind turbines on land.

We would get much more electricity for the money, and not need subsidies.

The controversial wind farm at Fosen cost around 11 billion. The new offshore wind farm costs an estimated 80 billion, but only provides around twice as much power as at Fosen.

But Fosen ends up being much more expensive, because the conflict with the reindeer herding families was resolved with money.

When it is to be built at sea, it is because wind turbines on land have met resistance both from conservationists and reindeer herders. Nuclear power is currently even more expensive and will take more time.

23 billion to foreigners is what was needed to preserve Norwegian nature on the mainland and to keep all the electricity itself.

It’s possible it’s worth it.

But someone pays for this, either through the electricity bill or the tax bill.

And that’s us.

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