– The energy prices of the last couple of years made us decide on solar cells, says Stig Støfring. He is operations manager at Fagerholt burettslag at Trosterud in Oslo. With 664 flats spread over 17 blocks, the housing association is one of the largest in the country. It is marked on the current meter. – Last year we used 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in the common area, says Støfring. – A lot of current is used to charge electric cars, says operations manager Stig Støfring. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Electric car charging, lights and heating cables The stream goes, among other things, to lights and electric car charging in the parking garages, heating and lighting in corridors and stairs and to heating cables in the gutters. Now they are investing to bring electricity costs down. On the flat roofs of two large parking garages in the cage, the fitters screw in long rows of solar panels. The Burett team starts with these roofs because it gives the most installed effect for the money. The solar cells on the roof have a maximum output of 204 kilowatts. On an annual basis, they should be able to deliver around 160,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This corresponds to just over 10 per cent of the consumption in the common area. The solar system being installed, photographed from the high-rise block next to the garage. Photo: Siri Vålberg Saugstad / news – The exact production depends on the weather conditions, says Terje Borkenhagen. He is the day-to-day manager of Enny, the company responsible for expanding solar power production here. The company is owned by Obos and Hafslund will develop solar energy facilities in co-ownership and housing cooperatives like this one. – Long-term, good investment The facility for Fagerholt burettslag costs approximately NOK three million. According to the operations manager, two-thirds of the cost is covered by Oslo municipality and the environmental fund of housing company Obos. This contributes to the fact that the plant can be paid off in as little as eight years, but it can produce electricity for 30 years. – It is a long-term, good investment for the housing association, says operations manager Støfring. From 1 October this year, housing associations and co-owners can produce up to 1,000 kilowatts of electricity on the roof and distribute it between different buildings and households without paying network rent and fees. The condition is that it takes place within the same farm and utility number. – The new rules will get more housing associations to install solar cells, believes daily manager Terje Borkenhagen in Enny. The company is owned by Obos and Hafslund and hopes to increase Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news In my opinion, the sharing arrangement is decisive – This is decisive for the wage board in cooperatives and co-owners. Then one can build fewer, but larger facilities and distribute the current to several buildings instead of setting up several facilities, Borkenhagen. More renewable electricity was also the goal for the government when it set the rules in the new year. – With these changes, it will be profitable for even more people to invest in local energy production, said Energy Minister Terje Aasland at the time. The industry has now started to notice that. Fagerholt burettslag at Trosterud in Oslo. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Bringing life to a dead market – This market has been completely dead. But now we will actually install solar cell systems in several housing estates in the future, says Kristoffer Liset, responsible for the project managers at Solcellespesialisten. In Fagerholt burettslag, this company is a subcontractor for Enny and is responsible for the installation of the 408 solar panels on two garage facilities. – Progress – It’s good that housing associations and co-owners are getting the same opportunities for electricity production as single-family homes and townhouses have had for a while, says managing director Bård Folke Fredriksen of the National Association of Norwegian Housing Associations. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – This is progress. The fact that housing associations and co-owners also drop grid rents and taxes on electricity they produce themselves will get more people to install solar cells. It will simply be more profitable, says managing director Bård Folke Fredriksen of the National Association of Norwegian Housing Associations. The association would like to see the power limit of 1,000 kilowatts raised. – But even more important is being able to share the current between several buildings in an area, also between different properties, says Fredriksen. Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy, NVE, has been tasked with working out an arrangement that makes it possible to collaborate on local electricity production across property boundaries, for example in a business park. – The new rules will get more housing associations to install solar cells, believes daily manager Terje Borkenhagen in Enny. The company is owned by Obos and Hafslund and hopes to increase Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news.
ttn-69
New rules make solar cells more profitable in cooperatives and co-ownership – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
