Support for the green shift could be weakened if voters associate a chaotic power situation and sky-high electricity prices with climate policy, believes climate researcher Asbjørn Torvanger in Cicero. The energy crisis in Europe is causing skyrocketing electricity prices in Norway as well. And it could get worse in the winter, the experts predict. The government will electrify the oil and gas installations on the Norwegian continental shelf with power from shore, in order to cut the use of local gas turbines to create electricity. Today, the gas extracted from the shelf is used to generate electricity on many of the platforms. The point of the electrification is to reduce some of the largest point emissions in Norway, in order to reach the politically agreed targets for cuts in carbon dioxide (Co₂) emissions. But the politicians must think carefully about whether it is a good use of Norwegian hydropower to send it onto the continental shelf. Because even if you can then send more gas to the EU, the climate effect should be assessed at a European level, believes Asbjørn Torvanger at the Cicero Center for Climate Research, which in 2014 counted on electrification of the continental shelf together with the consultancy company Pöyry. The gas that is burned in the gas turbines is otherwise exported and used in other EU countries. – In order to reach the climate targets, we must develop renewable energy, and also energy that works when, for example, there is little wind. Then Norwegian hydropower is extra valuable, says Asbjørn Torvanger, climate scientist in Cicero. Photo: Johan B. Sættem – I think it is an extra problematic policy today. In addition to a less robust climate effect in Europe, there is talk of using 10 percent of power production in Norway to electrify the shelf. This results in less hydropower in the European power system. And we are in a situation with an energy crisis in Europe, he says. In a normal year, Norway produces approx. 155 TWh of electricity, according to NVE. Equinor has calculated that the company’s electrification plan will require 10-12 TWh, while the wind power industry’s organization Norwea has calculated the overall power requirement for electrification at 15 TWh. In a debate article in DN this week, the climate researcher writes that believing that the higher the price of power, the faster the green shift goes, are attitudes that will do a disservice to climate policy in the EU and Norway. – When you find yourself in such a chaotic situation as today, it can also weaken support for the green shift and climate policy in Norway and Europe, he says to news. But Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide is adamant that it is right to electrify. – I believe that electrification is a correct and important measure. It is a real climate measure, because it reduces emissions at some of Norway’s largest emission points. And it will also prepare us for a future where the gas can eventually turn into blue hydrogen, he says. – Because we are such an integrated part of the European energy system, Torvanger’s reasoning simply does not hold. If the world had planned for eternal emissions, then he would have been right, says the minister. Torvanger sees it quite differently: – It is precisely because we are strongly integrated into the European power system that sending hydropower to the continental shelf means that we have to use more coal in the European power system. And when we are talking about investments of perhaps 50 billion in networks and cables, the companies will want to produce longer to get the investment repaid. It is striking that Norwegian politicians, who attach such great importance to EU cooperation, are unwilling to buy EU quotas to cover emissions on the continental shelf, when this has a safer climate effect and is probably cheaper, Torvanger replies. – Is it a climate policy that is based on reality, or is it wishful thinking, Espen Barth Eide? – Europe’s green give, and also now with the latest measure called Repower Europe, is a very comprehensive and concrete plan from fossil to renewable, both in the production of energy and the use of energy. This is a major and demanding transition, and Norway must find its place in it, says the Minister for Climate and Environment.
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Warns against using Norwegian hydropower to power the oil platforms
