On this plant and forest area in Ringsaker, a 1,800-acre giant solar power plant is planned. The landowner will also build solar power plants in three other places in the municipality. If this is built out, it will provide 40 per cent more than the overall need for houses and cottages in the municipality. This is just one of the large projects planned for solar power in Norway. Now the first plant in Norway has been granted a licence, but there is uncertainty for more plants due to concerns for nature and the environment. – This is the future – It is a little in relation to the time and the road. Electricity is needed. This is the future, we believe, says manager of Veldre almenning, Tore Lien Bjørnstad. From the left: Tore Lien Bjørnstad, manager of Veldre almenning and chairman Arne Ingvar Doubloug. Photo: Reidar Gregersen Chairman Arne Ingvar Doubloug agrees. With high electricity prices and wishes for more power production domestically, they will contribute to new development. First in the country As the first in the country, the company Solgrid has now received approval from NVE to build a large ground-mounted solar power plant in Stor-Elvdal. Solar power plants above a certain size must have a license from NVE before they can be built. FIRST IN THE COUNTRY: The solar park in Stor-Elvdal covers 170 acres. – We are very ready to build this facility, we will start as soon as the weather permits, says Kristin Melsnes, managing director of Solgrid. Kristin Melsnes, CEO of Solgrid. Photo: Solgrid AS She has more and bigger plans. Solgrid wants to develop many more solar power plants in Norway and Sweden in the coming years. How much can a solar power plant produce? The power in a solar power plant is measured in watts or megawatts. While the power it delivers is measured in terawatt hours (TWh). Or gigawatt hours (GWh). There are 1000 GWh in a TWh. An area of close to 2,000 meters will be able to provide around 150 MW in power and produce around 150 GWh. Large investment plans Energeia has a model where they facilitate solar power plants in combination with agriculture and grazing areas. – We are planning quite large facilities in the first instance so that it will be profitable, says general manager Viktor E. Jakobsen. Because it is urgent to develop more energy. Approximately 150 so-called TWh are produced in Norway per year. Going forward, there is a need for a production of a further 40 TWh. The potential for solar power in Norway is considered to be large. According to the Solar Energy Cluster, investments of 5-10 billion are planned by 2025. This could provide up to 1.5 TWh hours of new power to the Norwegian market. – There is reason to believe that unfortunately much of this will not be realized, says Trine Kopstad Berentsen, managing director of the Solar Energy Cluster. She points out that the projects may not be realized, due to conflicts with, among other things, the environment and nature. Area-requiring Because even though Norway has a great need for new power, there are also other considerations to take into account. Among other things, consideration for nature and the environment. The solar power plants are space-consuming, must be fenced in and will encroach on large natural areas. COOPERATION: There is a similar solar power plant that this company Energeia will build. They believe that solar power and open field grazing should go hand in hand. Photo: Adobe stock SV and Rødt will not support large-scale solar park development in agricultural and forest areas. SV wants a strong investment in solar energy, but not at any price. They want people to first look at the possibilities of using already destroyed areas. SKEPTIC: – We want to use car parks, industrial areas and we have a lot of roof space in Norway where we can place solar cells, says Lars Haltbrekken (SV), the energy and environment committee at the Storting. Photo: Jenny-Krihke Dragsten Bendiksen / news Red are negative about using agricultural land or forest areas for solar parks. They believe that both consideration for nature and efficient development mean that it should be built in already developed areas. NEGATIVE: – It is quite clear that it must be done in connection with existing infrastructure, such as construction and industry, says Sofie Marhaug (Rødt), 2nd deputy chair of the energy and environment committee. (Red).. Photo: Tony Ågotnes / news Red requests that the government deliver a plan that sets clear targets for production without destroying nature, at the latest in connection with the Revised National Budget 2023. – Must sacrifice something The landowners in Ringsaker believe that something must be done priorities if Norway is to increase its electricity production. – It is obvious that it is an intervention in nature, but if we are to get electricity, we have to sacrifice something. We believe that the combination of grass cultivation and grazing is optimal, says Arne Ingvar Doubloug in Veldre Almenning. Has limited experience NVE admits that they have limited experience with solar parks. They have so far had few facilities for treatment. – Larger solar power plants can have major effects on the power system, the environment and a number of other public interests, Svein Grotli Skogen, section leader at NVE. SPACE DEMANDING: This is how a solar park can look in the landscape. Photo: Getty Images/iStock
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Will stop the development of solar parks after the first plant has received a license – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
