Norwegian firms take on British wind farm

LONDON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Norwegian companies Statoil and Statkraft announced they acquired a 560-megawatt wind farm project located in the North Sea.

Oil and natural gas company Statoil and utility Statkfraft said they acquired the Dudgeon offshore wind farm project from a subsidiary of British energy company Warwick for an undisclosed sum.

The project has the capacity to produce as much as 560MW of energy. It's located about 20 miles off the coast of Norfolk in the North Sea.

Warwick project director Mark Petterson said the project was nearing completion, noting the main challenge need was securing construction funding during an economic downturn.

Siri Kindem, senior vice president for renewables at Statoil, said the project was in line with the company's strategy to add more low-carbon solutions to its asset base.

For his part, British Minister of State for Energy John Hayes said the investment by the Norwegian companies was a boost to his country's economy.

Statoil and Statkraft recently completed the 317MW Sheringham Shoal wind project in the Norfolk area.