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The deal will see GE develop five offshore demonstration projects. Statoil and Lyse will carry out technical and feasibility studies for building in Rogaland County off Norway’s southwest coast. Gothenburg Energy will be working on developing the demonstration project planned for Gothenburg Harbour.

The 4MW turbine features a direct drive gearbox and a 110-diametre rotor. GE bought Norwegian wind turbine manufacturer ScanWind for €15 million in August last year prompting speculation it had offshore ambitions. It is effectively the GE’s reentry to offshore wind energy.

The last offshore wind farm to be built using its turbines was the Arklow Bank wind farm in the Irish Sea. Arklow was built in 2003 and uses seven GE 3.6MW turbines.

GE plans to manufacture the 4MW turbine in the UK, with the development shared across Germany, Norway and Sweden.  

Speaking about the partnership deals, Victor Abate, vice president of GE Renewable Energy said: "We are pleased to be moving to the next phase in our offshore strategy. With Statoil, Lyse and Gothenburg Energy we have found three excellent partners with whom we can demonstrate our offshore technology.

"We remain optimistic about the potential of the offshore wind industry and we believe that our partnering strategy will increase our potential for growth in this sector, particularly in Europe where we see tremendous opportunities."