Threats and Opportunities in the Norwegian Offshore Wind 'Industrial Adventure': Insights into Business Consortium Perceptions

Norway has committed to international agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has set ambitious goal for developing offshore wind as an important part of a future cleaner energy mix. However, recent political and structural challenges have created hurdles for a smooth transition to a livable offshore wind industry (OWI) in Norway, compromising the planned timelines and potentially influencing companies' willingness to be part of the next Norwegian `industrial adventure'. The aim of this paper is to explore and describe how actors within the consortium organizations perceive threats and opportunities related to offshore wind in Norway during the years 2023 to 2024 concession phase. Data consists of ten semi-structured interviews with key informants in two different business consortiums representing four organizations and one informant from an industry network organization. Our findings provide insights into the Norwegian concession phase and occurring hurdles and challenges in the process of developing OWI Norway. Our informants paint a complex picture of threats and opportunities and identify several `barriers to entry' but also point to factors that motivates them to be part of the OWI development in Norway.

Keywords: Norwegian offshore wind industry, Maritime and offshore technology, Renewable energy, Decision making under uncertainty, Risk perception, Concession phase.