In Aurland, at the heart of the Sognefjord, the water rushes from the Nyheller reservoir down to Vetlebotnvatnet, which lies 400 meters lower in the terrain. And when the water is down, it is pumped up again, the other way. Then to crash down once more. And one more time. Each time it costs more power to pump the water back than it produces on the way down. But if you set the system “in reverse” when the power price is low, and let the water down again when the price is higher, then it is still a good shop. Now Norway is bringing the same principle to Scotland. Bad tongues will claim that local merchants, who take good care of “Nessie”, have contributed to the creation of the myth. Photo: Unknown / Ap Here, a pumping power station will create value by sending the water back and forth between the world-famous lake Loch Ness and a reservoir a little further up. The purchase price is not known. The Scottish lake is visited annually by 1.6 million tourists who hope to catch a glimpse of the sea monster “Nessie”. In other words, the local business community has little incentive to rule out the existence of the monster. What is pumped power Pumped power simply means running the power plant in “reverse” during periods of low power prices, while the power plant produces electricity when the power price is high. The water in pumped power plants is thus used several times, much like the electrolyte in a battery. There are 11 pumped-pump power plants in Norway, with a total pumping power of around 1 GW. The largest is Saurdal pumped power plant in Rogaland, which is part of the Ulla-Førre plant. Energi 21 concluded in a report from 2010 that Norway could export up to 20 GW of power if pumped power is built. In 2011, the CEDREN/Sintef report “Increased balance power capacity in Norwegian hydropower plants” came out. The background for the report was, among other things, that storage capacity and balancing power services in Norwegian hydropower storage “had been investigated to a small extent”. – We can contribute with our unique hydropower expertise to the green energy transition in Scotland and at the same time strengthen security of supply. Flexible power is necessary to be able to balance the power grid and phase in more renewable energy, says Statkraft in a statement. Statkraft, which is Europe’s largest supplier of renewable energy, is wholly owned by the Norwegian state and already owns several pumped power plants in operation in Norway and Germany. The pumps in Aurland were completed in 2013, and are one of the few pumped power stations in Norway. In all, there are only eleven of them after the “pumped power plant dream” was “crushed” ten to fifteen years ago. Photo: Hafslund Eco – The debate about pumped power has become more sober Pumped power plants have been part of the vision of Norway as “Europe’s green battery”. A dream that stood higher 10–15 years ago. – There has been an orientation to reality. The debate about pumped power has become more sober, the executive director of Statnett stated in 2011. LOCH NESS: In short, a pumped power plant is a power plant that is seen “in reverse” when there is a lot of power in the market and the price is low, and which lets the water down that when there is a shortage of power and the price is higher. Photo: Statkraft The background was, among other things, a Sintef report which showed that the “battery hype” was based on various technical, environmental and financial problems. Pumped power plants can involve frequent changes in the water level, which in turn can damage species and lead to erosion and landslides along the water’s edge. But in the last year, variable electricity prices and more non-regulated power in circulation, such as solar and wind power, have meant that old pumped power plans are being brought forward again. “The power companies must convert to pumped-pump power plants”, writes the head of Norwegian Industry, Stein Lier-Hansen, in a column in Dagens Næringsliv. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on pumped-storage power plants – Whether large pumped-storage power plants will become relevant in Norway in the future depends on many factors. The market conditions will be important for whether this is economically interesting for the players. Pumping water back up into the reservoirs and then producing power in a short time also entails environmental effects, and will have to be assessed concretely on a case-by-case basis. A reversible pumping power plant can move water between reservoirs in both directions, such as the Limberg II power plant in Austria (pictured). Photo: Voith – Cheers for several pumped-pumped power plants In 2011, Vattenfall Power assessed the costs of building pumped-pumped power plants in Norway, commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Water and Energy (NVE). They concluded that power plants will generally need more than 20 øre/kWh in price difference between the power they buy to pump and the power they sell to be profitable. Hafslund Eco, which owns 93 per cent of the pumping station in Aurland, believes the margins must be higher: at least 35-40 øre/kWh higher for production than for pumping. Øystein Grundt, who is a special adviser at the Small Power Association, has previously told news that he “supports more pumped-pool power plants given that they are environmentally acceptable”, but that as of today there are many obstacles. – Previously, the power companies have not considered the price differences to be large enough. But with the price fluctuations that I see now, it may happen that someone will look at this with new eyes. Stakaldefoss power plant is a hydropower plant in Sunnfjord municipality in Vestland. Photo: Oddmund Reisæter Haugen
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Norway will build a power plant at Loch Ness – news Vestland
