Norway to Open New Offshore Wind Lease Areas Norway will open up new areas for the development of offshore wind projects, the country's Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru said. The move is a response to the demands from the local industry which last year recorded an NOK 11 billion (around EUR 1.1 billion) international turnover in goods and services related to offshore wind, Minister Bru said during the Floating Wind 2021 conference in Haugesund. "The starting point for shaping our policy is that offshore wind is an industrial opportunity for Norway. We need to diversify our industrial base and we need to create new jobs. We want to build on the technology and competence in our oil and gas companies, and our fantastic service and supply industry," Minister Bru said. Last year, Norway opened two areas for offshore wind with a combined capacity of up to 4.5 GW – Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II.