Eolus Vind to Build 330 MW Wind Power Farm in Norway

Norway's oil and energy ministry on Wednesday said it gave final approval to Sweden's Eolus Vind to build a 330-megawatt wind power plant in Oeyfjellet, northern Norway.

The plant will be able to produce up to one terawatt-hour (TWh) per year, sufficient to meet the annual demand of 50,000 households, making it one of the largest wind power projects in Norway.

So far this year, Norway has approved renewable energy developments which are able to meet the annual power consumption of 350,000 households, the ministry said.

Norway, which generates most of its electricity from hydropower, has stepped up investments in wind power to diversify supply and to create jobs as the plunge in oil prices hits its main petroleum sector.

Norway's state-owned energy group Statkraft decided in February to build a 1,000 MW wind power capacity plant by 2020, the biggest onshore wind power complex in Europe, which would boost annual output by some 3.4 TWh.

In 2012, Norway joined Sweden to create the world's first cross-border renewable subsidy scheme to add a combined 28.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) in annual renewable production by 2020.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Ole Petter Skonnord)