Oslo, May 19 (BNA): Norway has launched the first part of its long-awaited inaugural floating wind tender, offering subsidies to the winners despite the challenges faced by the global offshore wind industry.

The industry has grappled with skyrocketing costs, higher interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks, prompting governments to halt or postpone tenders due to a lack of interest from bidders, Reuters reported.

In a first step, the process foresees bidders being awarded the rights to develop commercial projects of up to 500 megawatts (MW) in capacity at the Utsira Nord site off the country's south-west coast.

The winners will then have two years to mature the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies in 2028-2029, to be provided as a direct grant.

Z.H, S.H.A