Hydro, Eviny and Zephyr are teaming up to sort out a wind power project in the mountain area between Høyanger and Sunnfjord. The planned investment is NOK 3–4 billion, with a total power production of 1 TWh. This corresponds to the electricity consumption of approximately 60,000 households. – By developing power at competitive prices, we secure today’s industrial workplaces and at the same time facilitate climate-friendly aluminum production, says Hydro Aluminium’s head of primary production, Ola Sæter. He says onshore wind power is a prerequisite for securing enough power for the aluminum plant in Høyanger after 2030. According to Statnett, Norway is steering towards a power deficit from 2027. – The goal is to decarbonize all aluminum plants in Norway. Access to renewable power is a prerequisite for that, says Sæter Today, a quarter of Hydro’s electricity use comes from wind power. – We look forward to the dialogue with the host municipalities. Local support is decisive for the project to be realised, says Olav Osvoll, who is executive director of Fornybar in Eviny. In March, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) announced that he wants more wind turbines in the country. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – I want to get into a hellish race In September, the mayor of Høyanger, Petter Sortland (Ap), announced that he would get “into a hellish race” if Hydro tempts with large enough investments in exchange for a wind farm on the mountain. The aluminum plant in Høyanger is not only a “cornerstone company” and the most important workplace, but also the cultural and economic hub around which everything revolves. – There will be crazy pressure, and an enormous dilemma, he told Bergens Tidende. The Labor Party mayor has previously been a high-profile opponent of wind power. Faced with the new plans, he speaks more cautiously. – Here I have to go into the thinking box. It is clear that this is something different than if there is a wind power developer with a postal address in the Cayman Islands. In addition, I am so screwed up that I believe Hydro when they say they need this power. Mayor Petter Sortland (Ap) says the developer is welcome to start his “feasibility studies” and to “present the plans to the municipal council.” – Yes, they are most welcome. Photo: SANDER EIDE AASE / news – Has the young radical become more pragmatic with age? – I have to be honest to admit it. Furthermore, much has been done to meet the host municipalities since the national framework for wind power was scrapped. After a controversial development map (see below), massive protests and cairn burning against wind power, there was a political consensus to “put one foot in the ground” in 2019. But this spring Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) announced that he wants more wind turbines country, and that this will be politically possible given “more thorough processes” and greater local involvement. – I like to believe that a long country like Norway has enough nature for us to do this in a gentle way, he said to news. – The influencing work takes place behind closed doors. The main guidelines in the new licensing regime state that there should be more local influence and that the municipalities should process applications through the Planning and Building Act (not the Energy Act, as in the past). The new licensing regime was supposed to be ready this autumn, but has been postponed. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (OED) has announced that proposals for the inclusion of wind power in the Planning and Building Act will be heard before Christmas. At the top, the European Commission’s plan to increase the share of renewables from 40 to 45 per cent (“Repower EU”) leads to extensive changes in the licensing process for solar and wind power. Norway will be covered by these rules as a result of the EEA agreement. – With the current regulations, much of the influence work for wind power takes place behind closed doors without public access or involvement, says Siren Skråmestø Juliussen, who is responsible for nature conservation at the Norwegian Tourist Association. DNT is critical of the fact that the government in May came up with new recommendations for the concession system “without fixing the basic problem”. – We are very concerned that the ministry and NVE plan to use an unfinished set of regulations for the development of wind power on land, while we await changes to the law and regulations.
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Tempting wind power plans put the mayor in “a hellish dilemma” – news Vestland
