– I understand that we must have energy and that we must think green. But I don’t understand that we have to remove green areas to produce electricity, says Hedda Trevland (40). Close to where he lives at Sem in Vestfold, 560 acres of the landscape can be covered by solar panels. What used to be a planting field with spruce forest can be replaced by long rows of solar panels. – It will affect large parts of Sem visually, she says. Tormod Firing can have a view of a solar power plant with 100,000 solar panels from his house if the plans go ahead. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Tormod Firing is afraid that having to look out over a large area with solar panels not far from his house will affect his quality of life. – I don’t know how long I will live here if the solar power plant is destroyed, he says. If an area of 560 meters doesn’t tell you anything, then imagine a football field: Video: Truls Antonsen/Ingvil Øvretveit / news On this “football field” there can be approximately 1,250 solar panels. They will harvest electricity from the sun in a country where the authorities have said that we need much more power in the coming years. Many of us do not want to sacrifice more waterfalls. Tall wind turbines are not that popular either. Are there large solar power plants on the ground that will provide us with the electricity we need? Instead of one football pitch, you can now imagine 80 football pitches next to each other, roughly like this: Video: Truls Antonsen/Ingvil Øvretveit / news 100,000 solar panels – There will be around 100,000 solar panels spread over 2,000 racks at Akersmyra. The rows of solar panels will be spaced five meters apart, says Gaute Tjensvoll, business developer at Fred Olsen Renewables. The company develops, builds, operates and owns facilities within renewable energy in several countries, and is thus interested in Akersmyra at Sem in Vestfold. The majority of the area is in Tønsberg municipality, the rest belongs to Sandefjord. Gaute Tjensvoll at Fred Olsen Renewables believes that solar energy must be used both on buildings and in their own solar power plants, as they wish to build at Sem. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news He says that they are keen to cooperate with the municipalities so that the local community can benefit from the solar power plant. If it is built, the solar power plant at Sem will produce around 60 GWh of electricity during the year. This roughly amounts to the consumption of 25,000 average electric cars, according to Gaute Tjensvoll. 75 per cent of the production will take place in the summer half, 25 per cent in the winter half. – Suits well Tjensvoll believes that Akersmyra on Sem is well suited because there are good sunny conditions, it is a large, flat and partially newly felled area. The area is close to the regional power grid and transformer stations that have either been built or planned. He emphasizes that they wish to involve the neighbors in the planning so that the development causes the least possible inconvenience. Gaute Tjensvoll believes that many places in Vestfold and Telemark either lack a good enough grid, have too hilly terrain or too complicated ownership conditions to be suitable for larger solar power plants. Signature campaign against solar power plant Tettstaden Sem last year had 2,706 inhabitants, according to Statistics Norway. Many people do not like the idea of a large solar power plant here. In a few weeks, over 400 have signed a petition against the power plant at Akersmyra. This may be the first organized fight against a solar power plant in this country. But it will hardly be the last. – We weigh the advantages against the disadvantages of solar power plants, says specialist Jørgen Kocbach Bølling in Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) Photo: private According to NVE there is great interest in building solar power plants on the ground in Norway: – We have received reports of four five major projects. One of them is at 100 megawatt peak and will soon come as a license application. But we have heard talk of as many as 30, 40 – even maybe 50 solar power plants, says head of solar power and district heating, Jørgen Kocbach Bølling at NVE. He says that to know how much area is needed, you can roughly multiply the number of megawatts by 10. Then you get the number of meters or acres needed. A solar power plant of 100 megawatt-peak will therefore need 1,000 meters. So far, most solar power plants are planning much smaller than this. Tormod Firing on a walk with his dog Felix with Akersmyra in the background. – It won’t be the same as going for a walk and looking at an industrial plant, he says. His house is on the other side of the spruce forest. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Fears the hiking area and view will be destroyed Tormod Firing goes for a walk with his dog Felix on a hiking trail along Akersmyra at Sem. It was a bog that was drained in the 60s and 70s and gradually replaced with spruce forest. Parts of the forest have now been cut down, but Tormod reckons it will only take a couple of years before it is green again. – I often go for a walk around the area and up the ridge on the east side. Up there I get a nice view over the undulating landscape, says Tormod Firing (63), Hedda Trevland’s neighbour. – But you can go for a walk with the dog, even if there is a solar power plant here? – Yes, I can. I can also go for a walk around the Borgeskogen industrial area, but I don’t feel that it gives me the same peace of mind as walking in nature, says Firing. He emphasizes that he is not against solar energy, but believes that there are many roof surfaces and industrial areas that should be used first. Neighbors Tormod Firing and Hedda Trevland say they often see animals and birds in the forest behind them. – We think a large solar power plant will affect the wildlife, they say. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Solar power doubled last year Solar power currently only accounts for one per thousand of total Norwegian power production, according to Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy. But it is making rapid progress. Last year alone, the installed power from solar cells doubled in this country. Fred Olsen Renewables has sent a preliminary notification to Norway’s Water and Energy Directorate (NVE). If the company applies for a licence, NVE processes the application. Should solar power plants be located in nature? According to Statnett, in a few years the power surplus we have been used to having in Norway will end. New industry and the electrification of all areas of society increases the need for renewable power. It is expected that solar energy will gradually become important in Norway and. – We need more solar power, but we should utilize the roofs of houses, barns and commercial buildings before we sacrifice area in nature, says Anders Bjartnes, editor in Energy and Climate. Photo: Norwegian Climate Foundation Last year, a license was granted for a solar power plant on the hill in Stor-Elvdal in Østerdalen with an output of seven MWp, and one at Buer in Sarpsborg of 1 MWp. Both of these are thus far smaller than there is talk of establishing at Sem. Until now, however, most solar panels in this country are placed on the roofs of buildings. Should we use areas in nature for solar power plants? – No, usually not, says Anders Bjartnes, editor of the online newspaper Energi og Klima. He would like to have more solar power, but not in nature. He says that exceptions can be imagined, but that the main rule must be to use buildings for this purpose first. – There are more than enough roofs on warehouse buildings, shopping centers, barns and residential buildings that can be used before a large power plant is built out in nature, he says. – But perhaps a hay roof is not interesting for a power company to build out? – It may happen, but it is interesting for the person who owns the building. And we must not position ourselves in such a way that most people become opponents of solar energy, as we have seen with wind power, says Bjartnes. This picture is not from Norway. But this is what a solar power plant can look like. Photo: Getty Images/iStock Gaute Tjensvoll at Fred Olsen Renewables agrees that it is important to use rooftops where the power can be co-loaded to the distribution network. – At the same time, we should also build some large power plants that send the current into the regional grid. That way we can utilize the power grid we already have as well as possible, he says. – Have to assess all sides of the cases Jørgen Kocbach Bølling and his colleagues in NVE have many things to consider: The need for new power generation must be weighed against the disadvantages. Power development in nature is nothing new for NVE. – In the licensing process, we must look at all considerations: Activities on the network, whether it is possible to build it, but also all activities on the surroundings. – As? – Effects on natural diversity are important, visual effects, cultural heritage, outdoor life. All this that applies to people must be part of a transparent (transparent, ed. note) licensing process. Our task is to make it visible what someone has planned to do, hold meetings and answer all questions. Then we weigh the disadvantages against the advantages, says Kocbach Bølling.
ttn-69
Fear that thousands of solar panels will ruin the view – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
