Norway’s windmills smash previous records

Windmills in Norway were averaged 3,045 hours in use last year. With that the previous record from 2011 of 2,737 hours were surpassed by a wide margin. 

 

A new production record of 2.5 terawatt hours (2.5 billion kilowatt hours) was also set, according to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).

 

“An average operation time of 3,045 hours is really good. Based on experience we have from more recent wind farms shows that modern turbines can deliver well over 3,000 usage hours per year. The figures confirm that we have very good wind resources in this country,” NVI director Per Sanderud said.

 

Wind power now accounts for 1.7 percent of the total energy production in Norway. 

 

The new record figures were due to both good wind conditions and the impressive production from the newer wind parks. 

 

Windmills in Norway’s southern neighbour Denmark set a world record in 2015 by accounting for 42 percent of all domestic electricity use. Denmark exports excess wind energy to Norway, which in turn exports water power to Denmark.