– It is a tragedy that they have to take so long. This small power is very low priority. That’s what small power plant owner Ole Tom Eftestøl says. In 2018, he applied for a license to build the Tverråna power plant in Lindesnes municipality. A hydropower plant that would have had an annual production of 3.6 GWh which could supply enough storm water for 200 households. But five years have passed, and the case is still in the drawer at NVE. – They must allocate this money and have more case managers. We are ready and small efforts can contribute to a great deal, says Eftestøl. At Ole Tom Eftestøl’s small power plant in Kvinesdal, hydropower equivalent to the annual use of 200 households can potentially be produced. Photo: Ina Marie Sigurdsen / news Inertia in the system A report from the Small Power Plants Association estimates that there is a potential of 3,000 new small and micro power plants in Norway. Development of such power plants over the next ten years could increase annual electricity production in Norway by 17 TWh, the same report shows. That is well over 10 percent of Norway’s electricity production. In the Energy Commission’s latest report, it is pointed out that more power is needed, and that Norway is steering towards a power deficit. At the same time, there are currently 41 license applications with NVE from small power plants. Many of them are stuck in long application processes. Storting representative for the Conservative Party, Bård Ludvig Thorheim, says it is surprising that more applications are not being processed and thinks the system is too slow. – We are in an energy crisis. Small power plants can remedy this in the short term. Then the government must speed up processing applications and get them approved, so that we avoid a power deficit. Bård Ludvig Thorheim believes that priority must be given to small power plants to avoid a power deficit. Photo: Allan Klo / news Prioritizing more power Director of the energy and licensing department at NVE, Inga Nordberg, says they are continuously working to improve processes and want efficient case management for small power plants. – Through increased funds from the Ministry of Oil and Energy and new positions in 2023, NVE will generally have better case-handling capacity. According to the director, they will then be able to process small power more quickly, but it is important to show that prioritization lies at the bottom. – We will try to deal with simple, well-prepared cases in between the big cases, but we will prioritize looking at the facilities that provide the most power and the most effect first. – Small power plays an important role in increased power production, writes State Secretary in the Ministry of Oil and Energy, Elisabeth Sæther to news. Furthermore, she submits that the actual figures for projects applied for show that the six largest hydropower applications NVE is currently processing will be able to provide more than 800 GWh of new energy production. – By comparison, the 41 applications for small power plants provide only 160 GWh of new energy production. Director of the energy and licensing department in NVE Inga Nordberg. Photo: Stig Storheil / NVE Getting little information Eftestøl understands that applications like his take a long time, but is frustrated by the lack of information. – It is most frustrating that they do not listen. We have called several times, but there is very little information out to the applicants, he says. He believes that a change of pace is needed if the targets for sufficient energy resources are to be met. – Then you have to turn on the fireplace. It’s that simple.
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– Can contribute to a great deal – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
