– 2022 was another exceptional year in the power system, says Director of Communications at Statnett, Henrik Glette. On 30 December last year, a new record was set for the amount of electricity produced from wind power in one hour in Norway. Then, within sixty minutes, the wind turbines accounted for 4,238 MWh. A Norwegian record was also set on 23 November for the amount of electricity produced from wind power during one whole day. This agrees well with the fact that winter provides good months for power generation from wind. Norwegians used less electricity last year than the year before. In 2022, consumption was around 134 TWh. This is a decrease of just over 4 per cent compared to 2021. Photo: Illustration photo: Colourbox.com – Fosen Vind produced approx. 2.52 TWh last year, approx. seven per cent up on the previous year, says Geir Fuglseth, communications officer at Fosen Vind. Fosen in Trøndelag is one of the country’s most developed areas for wind power. Lower total power production Norwegians have both used less and produced less electricity in 2022 than the year before. Statnett reports that total power production has declined sharply in Norway since the record year 2021. At that time, 157 TWh were produced in Norway. The figure for 2022 is 146 TWh. – This is due both to periods of less rainfall in parts of the country and to the fact that consumption has been lower, says Glette. Fosstveit power plant is a small power plant in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder. It is a river power plant that utilizes a 15 meter drop in the Storelva. Annual production here is 6.9 GWh. Photo: Christine Fagerbakke / news At the same time, wind power production in Norway has never been higher, and a number of records were set for wind power production. In 2022, 14.8 TWh of wind power was produced, just over 10 percent of the total power production. There are now 64 wind power plants in Norway, and 1,386 turbines. – It is difficult to predict weather and wind, but under normal conditions we expect an increase next year due to increased availability, says Fuglseth. Has exported a lot to Germany Statnett describes last year as a year that put the power system to the test with large price differences, high imports and lower net exports. They point to the fact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused great unrest in the energy markets. Consumers have had a tough year in 2022 with high electricity prices. We Norwegians produced 146 TWh, used 134 TWh, imported 12.4 TWh and exported 24.5 TWh. This meant that we ended up with a net exchange/export of 12.1 TWh according to Statnett. Most of the electricity that has gone out of the country has ended up in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Table from Statnett showing the export of electricity from Norway in 2022. Graphic: Statnett – Norway has played an enormous role for Germany in freeing itself from energy dependence on Russia so quickly, said Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Minister of Energy, Robert Habeck, during HNO’s annual conference earlier in January. This is also linked to the export of gas to the country. According to Statnett, the capacity for exchanging electricity between Norway and other countries has increased in 2022. In the last week of last year, there was also a record high net import to Norway. It peaked on New Year’s Eve with a Norwegian record of net import of 7,418 MWh during one single hour. Table from Statnett showing imports and exports in 2022. For Norway as a whole, net exports were lower than in the two previous years. The reason is mainly greater imports over the year, according to Statnett. Graphics: Statnett – It is far too early to say what the situation will be like in 2023. We also imported a lot in 2022. Especially from Sweden and Denmark. The uncertainty in the energy markets is still great, says Glette. Records on bottleneck revenues The purchase and sale of electricity goes from areas with a surplus of power to areas with a deficit of power where the price for the power is higher. The difference in price constitutes the bottleneck income that goes to the owner of the infrastructure. This is Statnett on domestic connections, and Statnett and a counterparty on connections abroad. Statnett received record high bottleneck revenues last year. In 2022, these revenues totaled NOK 21.7 billion compared to NOK 5.1 billion the previous year. Fosen in Trøndelag is one of the most developed areas in Norway for wind power. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The reason for the large incomes is the large price differences that have existed between Norway and other countries that are affiliated, Statnett states. In addition to the large differences between the parts of the country last year. According to Statnett, throughout much of the year there was high power production in the north with very low prices and significant export of electricity to northern Sweden. In addition to transfers to the south of Norway throughout large parts of the year. Towards winter, however, electricity prices also rose north of Dovre, and central Norway in particular experienced periods of high electricity prices in November and December. Director of Communications at Statnett, Henrik Glette. Photo: Jarle Nyttingnes / Statnett Statnett points out that there are massive plans in Europe for the development of new, renewable power. They receive constant inquiries from companies that want to connect to the network. – We do not believe that the extreme situation Europe has faced in the past year is the new normal. But the green change of pace our joint power system is in the middle of will create new issues, other market conditions and changed flow patterns in the years to come, says Glette.
ttn-69
Less power produced in total, but more wind power than ever – news Trøndelag
