Electrification of Melkøya – NVE recommends submarine cable and underground cable in tunnel – news Troms and Finnmark

– If Melkøya is to be operated with power from land, we recommend that Equinor get a license for the grid solution they have applied for, says Inga Nordberg, director of the energy and licensing department at NVE. In the proposal, NVE recommends that a license be granted for the measures Equinor is applying for. Ground and submarine cable The recommended solution involves an underground cable in a tunnel of approximately 3.2 km from Hyggevatn transformer station to Meland and a 2.5 km long submarine cable from Meland to Melkøya. NVE also recommends that Equinor gets permission to set up a transformer station on Melkøya and to build and operate a new transformer station on Hyggevatn together with Statnett. – This network solution affects a very limited area, says Inga Nordberg, director of the energy and licensing department at NVE. Photo: Stig Storheil / NVE According to NVE’s assessment, this alternative will have the least negative consequences overall, if Melkøya is to be electrified with power from land. In the recommendation, NVE emphasizes that, in case of a possible permit, conditions are set that Equinor prepares a detailed plan, which must be discussed with the affected municipality, county and landowners. A detailed plan must describe the planning and execution of construction work for the measure. Equinor has given the electrification project the name “Snøvit Future”. Communications manager at Equinor, Gisle Ledel Johannessen, is tight-lipped for now. – We take note of the decision, he says to news Troms and Finnmark. Can have negative effects on reindeer husbandry NVE emphasizes that the construction work with the opening of the tunnel and the new transformer will also have negative consequences for the reindeer herding district. The reason is that the areas around the planned substation are important grazing areas. – It is important to reduce the disadvantages for both the environment and society. If permission is granted for a development, we recommend that Equinor collaborates with Statnett to adapt the construction work to reindeer husbandry’s use of the area, says Nordberg.



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