The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has approved Norway's initiative to support the building of a floating offshore wind farm consisting of 11 wind turbines. ESA finds that aid to the Hywind Tampen project is compatible with EEA State Aid rules that aim to promote environmental protection as the positive environmental benefits outweigh the negative effects on competition.
The Hywind Tampen project aims to cover a third of the total energy need of two oil and gas platforms with wind power instead of gas. Norway, through the state enterprise Enova, has decided to grant NOK 2.3 billion to Equinor and its partners OMV, Petoro, Idemitsu, DEA and Vår Energi to realise the Hywind Tampen project, which covers around 43% of the project's investment costs. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) monitors compliance with the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement) in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, enabling those States to participate in the Internal Market of the European Union.