– It’s minus 25 degrees in here. Guro Espeland has taken us into the cold storage at Jæder, where tons of meat are stored. Guro Espeland is the day-to-day manager of the meat processing company Jæder. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news Here at the factory at Skurve in Gjesdal they produce food that ends up on 100 million plates over the course of a year. And that again shows the power consumption. They use 6 million kWh of electricity a year. Or as much as 375 households. – Food production is energy-intensive. We fry the product and then the temperature has to go down again, and then we have a fridge and freezer, says Espeland, who is the day-to-day manager at Jæder. Making burgers using solar power On the roof of the 11,000 square meter factory, 600 square meters are covered with solar cells. It provides enough power to cook some of the burgers. But now they want to produce even more of the electricity they use themselves. – We want to put more solar cells on the roof. In winter there is not so much sun, but a lot of wind. So backyard windmills are also something I’m looking at. Jæder has put 600 square meters of solar cells on the roof, now they want more. Photo: Gry Surdal Espeland / Jæder The factory is located in Rogaland and it is among the areas in Norway where the electricity price is the highest. From 2011 to 2021, Jæder paid a spot price of 28 øre. In 2022 it was 212 øre and so far this year it is an average of 93.5 øre. In other words, electricity costs have become both higher and more uneven. Therefore, the meat processing company now wants to produce around 20 percent of its own consumption. – It is a win-win situation. We will both burden the grid less and, in addition, we will get lower electricity costs and become more self-sufficient, says Espeland. But it costs money to make such an investment. And until now, there has been no government support available for companies that want to take such measures. Want state funds for energy efficiency measures – I hear about a huge number of people who want to do something, but who need a little extra to be able to do it, says regional director Tone Grindland in NHO Rogaland. Regional director of NHO Rogaland, Tone Grindland Photo: Thomas Ystrøm / news Together with LO, NHO recently presented a strategy for energy efficiency and local solar power production. – Energy efficiency in construction and industry will bring great benefits. It is the key to limiting power consumption and reducing the need to build out more power, says regional manager of LO in Rogaland, Eirin Sund. Both LO and NHO have expected money for such measures from the state budget. And today it became known that the government granted an extra 180 million kroner to Enova, which will go towards energy efficiency measures. Eirin Sund is regional manager of LO in Rogaland. Photo: Erik Waage/news – This is a start, but the amount should be much higher. 180 million does not go far. I still hope that this is what Jæder and others need to be able to start producing electricity with solar and wind, and store the surplus in batteries, says Grindland. She believes it is particularly important that companies located in areas with high electricity prices receive support, such as in Rogaland. – The electricity prices here in Rogaland are very, very high, which means that the companies do not have that much money available to take other sensible measures. Thus, one now needs support to be able to take the extra measures to be able to be energy efficient. Guro Espeland in Jæder is clear about what they want to do, if they get state support as a man. – Then I would have started with it. Then I’m ready. Guro Espeland in the packing room in the factory at Skurve in Gjesdal. A total of 12,500 burgers per hour are ground and shaped here at the factory. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news
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Companies want to produce their own stream – now NHO and LO will have state support – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
