– We have to think again. We have to think about less natural encroachment, and place a larger part of the development in Eastern Norway. That is where much of the power is used, says CEO of Lyse, Eimund Nygaard. As early as 2026, southern Norway will have a power deficit. And in 2027 there will be a power deficit throughout Norway. This means that Norway must import power from abroad. – It is a very serious situation for the energy nation Norway, says Tonne to news. The solution to this, according to both Statnett, Lyse and CEO Kjetil Lund of the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE), is simple: We must build more wind power. And they all agree that the fastest and cheapest solution is to build more wind power on land. – We have some important choices ahead of us. And failing to strengthen the power supply, failing to build more power, will come at a great cost to Norwegian society. Then onshore wind power is the cheapest form of power available, says Lund in NVE. CEO of NVE, Kjetil Lund. Photo: Catchlight/NVE Looking to the forest They also all agree that the wind turbines of the future could well be located in forested areas in Eastern Norway, where fewer people live. Eimund Nygaard is director of the power company Lyse. Photo: Ingvald Nordmark / news Nygaard i Lyse is aware that we have to think anew. And the power industry can take self-criticism. – We in the industry must take a bit of self-criticism that we have been too preoccupied with building wind power plants where it blows the most – on mountaintops in Western Norway. That is why there has been so much resistance. The natural interventions have been large, and a lot of road has been built there, says Nygaard. He therefore believes that in future we will not necessarily need the most hyper-efficient solutions. But that we have to curb our ambitions and think about nature, the environment and investment in power at the same time. CEO of Statnett, Hilde Tonne, is concerned about the power situation in Norway. Photo: André Bendixen / news To invest 100 billion It was during a debate at the Solamøet, where business leaders and politicians meet, that this became a topic on Monday. Statnett manager Hilde Tonne expressed great concern. Because it’s urgent. And offshore wind power development will take time. Statnett plans to invest up to 100 billion in developing the power grid over the next ten years. But they are still unable to promise away more than a third of the desired connection. – In addition, we will cut emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. We will achieve this with the electrification of 50 new TWh in 2030. Where will we get it from, she asks. She points out that they can get around 10 TWh with fairly large upgrades of hydropower, but that in the short term onshore wind is the answer. – Onshore wind can produce 15 TWh. And that is probably what needs to be started as soon as possible to close the gap. But we have to think again, she says, and points to Sweden. Still strong opposition Resistance and protests against wind turbines in Norwegian nature are still strong. In fact, a survey carried out by Aftenbladet in autumn 2022 shows that, despite high power prices in the country, opposition to onshore wind power is increasing. Fully 50 percent now say no. The opposition was also the reason why the government halted all new development in 2019. But this spring they reopened for new licences. However, there have been few applications and talk of onshore wind power since then, according to NVE. The focus now is on offshore wind power. Tonne fully understands opposition and discussion, and she believes that if more wind power is to be developed, there must be good processes. – There must be local anchoring, local value creation and we must find areas that are not necessarily on the highest mountain peaks and provide the largest interventions, she says. Don’t want wind power in nature The head of the Norwegian Nature Conservancy, Truls Gulowsen, tells news that he thinks it is good that NVE, Lyse and Statnett realize that last decade’s wind power on mountain tops was a mistake. But he does not agree that expanding wind power in forested areas in Eastern Norway should be any better. – In our view, wind power cannot be built in nature anywhere, and should in that case be reserved for already industrialized areas. Truls Gulowsen is leader of the Norwegian Nature Conservancy. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news In Sweden, the power produced with wind power has increased from around 20 TWh per year in 2019 to 33 TWh in 2022. This accounted for 20 percent of the electricity production in the country. Sweden has built much of the wind power in the north of the country, where few people live. They have also developed some in the forests in the west of the country. In Norway, we have largely developed wind power in the western part of the country. Production at Norwegian wind power plants was at the end of 2020 at 9.9 TWH
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Krafttopper will add wind power development to Eastern Norway – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
