The case may involve millions in annual remuneration for the third largest hydropower plant in Finnmark. The landowner Finnmarkseiendommen (FeFo) has taken the case to court. They want to force Statkraft to renegotiate the old agreement on Adamselv power plant. FeFo’s director Jan Olli believes the agreement is crystal clear: They can renegotiate after 50 years. Olli is asking the district court to cut through – and at the same time decide on a reasonable payment for the fall rights in the watercourse. Rising power prices mean that running water is increasingly valuable. – Today’s remuneration is approximately NOK 125,000, and that is far, far below today’s value. It’s a big power plant. That is about a third of the Alta power plant, says Olli. Adamselv power plant produces 215 GWh a year. Finnmarkingen’s right When the power plant was built, the state owned the land in almost all of Finnmark. Later, the fight for Sami rights has led to the Finnmarkings now owning the land themselves through FeFo. This settlement is part of the background to the case, says Olli. FeFo director Jan Olli about Adamselv power plant: – Here is a particularly favorable agreement that the state has given itself. Photo: Jan Henrik Hætta / FeFo – Here the state, as the then ground lessee, has given itself a very favorable agreement. It is unreasonable that the state should continue to profit from the Finnmarkingen’s rights. – When rights on the Finnmark property are used or utilised, we as landowners must be properly compensated for it. Olli does not want to quantify what is the correct payment. – I can’t say exactly what it might be, but it is much, much higher than today. It could be several millions. Statkraft refuses Statkraft, on the other hand, believes that it would have been clear in the agreement if it was intended that the price should be adjusted over time, in addition to normal price increases. The company will not say anything about the case to news before it goes to court. In the so-called final submission, which has been sent to the district court in advance, they explain why they do not want a new agreement. The lease can be renewed “when the license conditions can be taken up for general revision”. Statkraft believes it is correct to disregard the word “can” when interpreting the entire agreement in context. As long as the license conditions are the same, the lease agreement should not be changed either, claims the company. Statkraft believes that the demand from the landowner violates normal practice in the area. They believe it is of no consequence that the Finnmarkings through FeFo have taken over the land from the state. In any case, the owners have waived their rights in perpetuity, in return for annual compensation, writes the company’s lawyer. Adamselv power station seen from the air. Photo: Norge i bilder / Mapping Authority Statkraft also believes that the low rent has already benefited the Finnmarks. It led to the company being worth a lot when Finnmark County Council sold the shares in the power company to Statkraft. If the rent is raised now, Statkraft will have to pay twice for the same performance, they claim. Jan Olli believes the company mixed up the cards. – Finnmark County Council was bought out, but Finnmark County Council was the owner and not the landowner. Statkraft bought ownership of the power plant. It had nothing to do with landowner remuneration. According to Olli, FeFo has renegotiated the old agreements with several inter-municipal power plants in Finnmark. However, they are far smaller than Adamselv. At the disputed power plant in Alta, Statkraft also owns the fall rights. Here, the landowner cannot negotiate an increased rent. Photo: Kai Erik Bull / news More expensive in the north – gradually Power prices in northern Norway have remained relatively low, and the power plant in Adamselv is not the money machine it would have been if the electricity could have been sold in the south. But that could change significantly in the coming years. Tor Reier Lilleholt expects significantly higher power prices in the north in the coming years. Photo: Sondre Steen Holvik This is what analysis manager Tor Reier Lilleholt at Volue Insight says. He points out that 30-35 øre per kilowatt hour has been the usual average price in the north. – Already this winter, you can quickly see 50 øre on average. In the coming years, I think we will more often see between 50 øre and 1 krone. Eventually, new establishments will probably raise prices. – There will be large investments in consumption in this region. Then we are talking five, ten or fifteen years in the future, says Lilleholt. He refers to Freyr’s battery factory in Rana in Nordland as an example. In addition, the oil industry is to be electrified. – The low price also attracts a number of green investments. There are many new electrification measures and new industry coming to this region. Three days have been set aside for the trial between FeFo and Statkraft. It starts in Tana on November 8.
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