{"id":32138,"date":"2023-02-01T12:01:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T12:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/dispute-over-the-jewel-in-the-norwegian-power-system-news-vestland\/"},"modified":"2023-02-01T12:01:32","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T12:01:32","slug":"dispute-over-the-jewel-in-the-norwegian-power-system-news-vestland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/dispute-over-the-jewel-in-the-norwegian-power-system-news-vestland\/","title":{"rendered":"Dispute over the “jewel” in the Norwegian power system – news Vestland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

– Water power is the jewel in the Norwegian power system, repeated Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) several times, when this morning he received the new energy message “More of everything – faster”. The starting point for the “prescription” is that the “patient” is sick, and that Norway is thirsty for more power for the green shift: “at least 40 TWh” of power by 2030, claims the Energy Commission. But behind the scenes there has been a dispute, and the Energy Commission has not agreed on how big a burden should be placed on the “jewel”, i.e. hydropower. A majority is behind the formulation of 7 TWh of hydropower through “voluntary agreements”, while a minority – including committee leader Lars S\u00f8rgard – insists that this is “too ambitious”. – I am more concerned with the direction than quantifying a goal. The point is that we have to do several things at the same time, says S\u00f8rgard to news. – Hydropower is the jewel in the Norwegian power system, repeated Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) when he received the energy message from committee leader Lars S\u00f8rgard. Photo: Gorm Kallestad \/ NTB \u2013 So much hydropower is particularly ambitious Head of Renewable Norway, \u00c5slaug Haga, says the dream of 7 TWh of new hydropower by 2030 “is excessively ambitious”. – Especially with the permanently high tax burden the government has put on hydropower now, and the lack of foresight. It is therefore good that the commission recommends a review of the changes that were made to the power tax regime last autumn, she says. A corresponding signal comes from Christian Eriksen in Bellona. – That much hydropower is particularly ambitious, and most likely will not be achieved, he says. Rune Indr\u00f8y is executive director of Eviny, the largest renewables company in Vestland. – The Energy Commission shows that it understands the challenges we face with the need for more power, more networks and faster case processing. But I would like to see more offensive proposals for how we can make this happen at the pace society needs, he says. – Glad that the Energy Commission is so clear Nikolai Astrup, Right – This is a marching order to the government, now is the time for action. Norway is steering towards a permanent power shortage. Based on the report from the commission, an ambitious and feasible power plan must now be drawn up until 2030. We must have more of everything. The license processing time must be reduced, network development must be accelerated and we must have framework conditions that make it attractive to invest in new power generation. H\u00f8gre has put forward a number of proposals about this in the Storting over the past year, but the government has so far delivered more talk than action. The Energy Commission, along with H\u00f8gre, is quite clear that the appointment to the government of half of the offshore wind development on S\u00f8rlege Nordsj\u00f8 II must be reversed. It makes no sense to appoint important power projects in the situation we are in now. Ola Elvestuen, spokesperson for environmental and energy policy in the Liberal Party – Now the government must do exactly what the Energy Commission says: Ensure a rapid development of renewable energy. They must ensure a plan and a tax system that promotes the development of offshore wind, the development of solar power, wind and the upgrading of hydropower plants. And the government must listen to the majority in the Energy Commission who say they must expand S\u00f8rlege Nordsj\u00f8 II as the previous government proposed. 3 GW must be lit up in the first phase, and 1.5 GW in Utsira north. Put the Center Party’s fads aside and arrange for hybrid cables to Europe right away. The government should have drawn up an additional agreement with Enova a long time ago to reinforce efforts for energy efficiency. We have proposed this a long time ago without the government having done anything. All they need to do is send Enova a letter and ask them to spend more money on this. Fortunately, the Energy Commission maintains that Norway must be fully integrated into European energy cooperation, and stays away from complicating proposals that will make this cooperation more difficult. Norwegian consumers and businesses have no interest in that. Norway as a whole is working on this, it also gives us security of supply. Now the government must become much better at following up the processes for more renewable energy that are going on in the EU. Bj\u00f8rn K. Haugland, managing director of Skift – N\u00e6ringslivets Klimaleiarar – We believe that the government should already in 2023 come up with a big increase in the level of ambition by allocating at least 4,500 MW in addition to the planned 1,500 MW in the Southern North Sea. In addition, the 1,500 that are announced should be planned for connection to a larger system. If a higher level of ambition for S\u00f8rlege Nordsj\u00f8 2 is quickly announced, and the following becomes clear, it is possible to have another project design that is significantly more profitable, where parts of the power go to Europe through a hybrid connection. This can be shaped in a way that provides a net flow of power to Norway. Floating offshore wind is more expensive and will require a lot of support in an initial phase. In order to speed up the development with subsequent learning and cost figures, the requirement from there should be that as much floating offshore wind is developed as is needed for the electrification of the oil and gas industry. In addition, support should be awarded to 1,500 MW in Utsira Nord. Hildegunn T. Blindheim, Offshore Norway – Stable access to renewable energy is a prerequisite for many electrification measures in Norwegian industry and is an important competitive advantage in the energy transition. It is crucial that we develop more renewable power and that we increase the pace of development, as the commission points out. The offshore industry will contribute to this, among other things through the large-scale development of offshore wind. We know that electrification reduces both Norwegian and global emissions and that it will be more difficult and more expensive to reach climate targets if profitable electrification projects are not carried out. It is very good that the Energy Commission shares this view. Guro Hauge, director of energy efficiency at the Norwegian Building Industry Association – The Energy Commission states that there is as much potential for energy efficiency and local energy production as in the large power developments up to 2030. In this way, we can quickly reduce electricity costs for people and businesses, and ensure the power supply to the nearest the years. This NOU represents a turning point for energy policy in Norway. We therefore expect the government to take action already now and draw up an action plan for how the great potential for energy efficiency and local energy production will be unleashed. Anniken Hauglie, member of the Energy Commission and deputy managing director of NHO – I am glad that the Energy Commission is so clear and agreed on the need for more renewable power and that we need it quickly. If we are to avoid electricity becoming an expensive scarce commodity, and ensure sufficient access to power at affordable prices, we need more wind, sun and water and we cannot wait. We must have a large-scale investment in energy efficiency and more networks must be built. The municipalities are a key to success. The commission therefore proposes that municipalities that make land available must receive better financial compensation for it. It is important and right. We need more power municipalities to succeed, both for our own self-supply of power, and for a national power surplus. Sigrun Gjerl\u00f8w Aasland, Zero – The Energy Commission shows how it is possible to solve the energy crisis with the system we have today. Now we must not waste any more time discussing fundamentally new power systems, but roll up our sleeves and do the job of building out more power and getting a large-scale investment in energy efficiency. The Energy Commission is calling for, for example, changes in the regulations for the sharing of solar on roofs and that the development of solar on roofs be exempted from the obligation to apply in the Planning and Building Act. These are measures the government must implement immediately, and which do not cost a penny over the national budget. When there is a power crisis, why hasn’t this happened before? – The report is resoundingly clear that Norway must give up power development, says \u00c5slaug Haga, head of Fornybar Noreg. Photo: William Jobling \/ news – This is feverish fantasy The FRP believes there is a mismatch between the ambition for 7 TWh more hydropower and the committee’s “stepmotherly” treatment of the same power: – Norway has enormous hydropower potential, which this report only mentions in a sub-clause. If you close the door on such an important measure, it is no wonder that you at the same time overestimate the importance of developing more wind power on land, says Terje Halleland (Frp). The report further states that there is “great uncertainty” around wind power, but that it is “realistic to increase production by 5-10 TWh compared to today. FRP colleague Marius A. Nilsen takes a harder line and characterizes the power ambition as “feverish fantasy”, unless the governing powers open up to reassessing watercourse protection. A similar signal has come from H\u00f8gre, which last year presented a list of protected waterways that should receive “gentle hydropower development”. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland signaled last year that the Energy Commission should “look into whether it is possible to develop more of what has been protected”. In the report, the Energy Commission does not enter into this discussion. The development of hydropower is nevertheless so sensitive that committee member and former NU leader Silje Lundberg dissented and specified that the production of hydropower should only take place through the modernization of existing power plants. Silje Lundberg belonged to the minority in the Energy Commission which specified that the production of hydropower should only take place through the modernization of existing power plants. Photo: Ingun Alette M\u00e6hlum NVE calculates the potential at 7.6 TWh A much-discussed NTNU study says that Norwegian waterways can produce 15\u201320 more terawatt-hours only with the help of upgrading and expansion. NVE is more sober and calculates the potential at 7.6 TWh. The assessment of Venstre and SV is therefore that 7 TWh is not too ambitious. – So this is something the government must pressure the power company to do, says Lars Haltbrekken in SV. Deputy head of the energy and environment committee in the Storting, Sofie Marhaug, is calling for a national plan for upgrading hydropower. – Hydropower is the most valuable thing we have and the backbone of the power system, therefore we must coordinate the work nationally and find potential for upgrading and making it more efficient, but with strict environmental requirements that preserve nature, she says. KrF: the potential is “up to 10 TWh” The somewhat unusual constellation Raudt, Frp, SV, MDG and KrF proposed last year to commission a plan from the government on the efficiency of existing hydropower plants with the aim of increasing power production. The proposal was voted down by the governing party, H\u00f8gre and Venstre. Kjell Ingolf Ropstad estimates the potential in hydropower to be “up to 10 TWh”. – If not before 2030, then in any case the next ten years. But I want to warn against building down protected waterways. We not only have a climate crisis, but also an environmental and nature crisis.
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– Water power is the jewel in the Norwegian power system, repeated Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) several times, when this morning he received the new energy message “More of everything – faster”. The starting point for the “prescription” is that the “patient” is sick, and that Norway is thirsty for more power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[723,11889,16,221,615,3285,40],"class_list":["post-32138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-dispute","tag-jewel","tag-news","tag-norwegian","tag-power","tag-system","tag-vestland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}