Norway grants $428 million for two floating offshore wind test projects

COPENHAGEN, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Norway has granted 3.94 billion Norwegian crowns ($427.54 million) in support for two floating offshore wind test projects with a planned annual capacity of 0.3 terrawatt hours (TWh), Norwegian government agency Enova said in a statement on Friday.

• Enova has granted Fortius Offshore Wind AS 2 billion crowns, and Fram Wind Solutions AS 1.94 billion crowns

• Both plan to install two large offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 18.5 megawatts each, over the next five years

• Energy production will match the annual consumption of around 15,000 households

• The aim is to test and demonstrate new technology that can reduce the cost of generating energy from floating offshore wind

• "If they succeed in making offshore wind technology profitable enough, it will be a major step toward faster, large-scale deployment of renewable power," Enova said

($1 = 9.2156 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)