0.4%. That’s the percentage of renewable energy we produced last year. The rest came from oil and gas. How (the heck, some might say) can we claim that we take renewable energy seriously? Stick with us for a few moments here and we’ll try to give you a good answer.
We can start with where we stand right now. The energy transition is not moving as rapidly as we would like, or as fast as the world needs. Fortunately, however, progress is being made. In 2023, 50% more renewable energy production capacity was installed, compared with the previous year. And we will contribute to continue on this path. This is crucial for the energy transition, but it’s also crucial for Equinor’s own journey.
This is why our ambition is to produce up to 65 terawatt hours of renewable energy every year by 2035. So how much is that, really? Well, it’s around half of annual Norwegian hydropower production. An energy supply that’s taken more than 125 years to develop. Are we on track? Yes, actually; we are. We doubled our production of renewable energy from 2022 to 2023, and considering the major projects currently under development within offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and battery technology, we are determined to succeed.
To be sure, there are some obstacles. Recent years have proved challenging for offshore wind. The pandemic, inflation and war in Europe have caused many countries to reshuffle their priorities, and significant cost increases have also created bottlenecks in the supply chain. All this must be resolved. In order to put more wind in the sails of offshore wind, the industry must be scaled up. We are convinced that this will happen. And we know that we have what it takes when it comes to offshore wind.
With our more than 50 years of experience with tough Norwegian weather conditions, we’ve already assumed an important role in developing offshore wind as a new industry. Norway’s first offshore wind farm is in the Tampen area in the North Sea, just north of Bergen. It provides renewable energy for the Snorre and Gullfaks gas fields. Engineers that used to work with oil and gas platforms have turned their talents to offshore wind farms. The same is true for our suppliers. Because this transition of ours is nothing less than critical. Yet it also carries vast potential. In Norway alone, the authorities have an ambition of awarding acreage by 2040 for the development of 30 gigawatts of production capacity – which nearly equals current Norwegian hydropower capacity.
That’s good, and things are moving even faster on the international stage. So far, we have four offshore wind farms in the UK: Sheringham Shoal, Dudgeon, Hywind Scotland and the world’s largest fixed foundation offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank. When the latter is complete in a few years, with more than 270 turbines, it can supply renewable energy to more than six million British households. And Hywind Scotland was a shining example of how we can produce power from floating offshore wind.
If we also include the investments we’re making in everything from solar energy in Brazil to offshore wind off the coast of New York and onshore wind in Poland, we see more reasons for optimism than not. That also applies to the volume of renewable energy we produce. Because the current production level doesn’t include the projects now under development. The work on Dogger Bank started 14 years ago, and the first electricity reached British households just last year. Does that mean that things can’t move faster? Not at all. The authorities are working hard to speed up awards, while the industry absorbs the lessons learned from each new project, thus helping make the next project even better.
So do we take renewable energy seriously? Yes, we do. And we search for even better solutions every single day. Because this energy transition is truly a necessity.
50 years in the North Sea have given us more than just technical expertise. It’s also taught us how to handle both good times and tougher ones. We don’t get carried away on the highs and we don’t try to hide from the lows. But renewable energy is definitely something we’ll see more of in the years ahead.
