SHARE
COPY LINK

ENVIRONMENT

New estimates: Central Norway may face electricity cost hike without Fosen wind farms

If the two disputed wind power farms at Fosen are dismantled, the price of electricity in central Norway could increase by ten øre per kilowatt hour in the coming years, according to recent estimates.

Wind turbine
Protestors want to see the wind turbines pulled down. Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Unsplash

In the last week, protesters and campaigners have demonstrated against the wind turbines at Storheia and Roan, a part of the wind farm portfolio of Fosen Vind.

They want to have the wind power plants at Roan and Storheia in Fosen demolished, as their construction infringed upon the human rights of indigenous Sami reindeer herders.

A Supreme Court verdict established that the wind turbines negatively affect the grazing areas for reindeer herding.

Pricier electricity?

If the protesters and campaigners get their way and get approval for the demolition of the wind turbines, electricity in central Norway could become more expensive, the news bureau NTB reports.

The consulting company Afry estimates that such an outcome could increase the power price in price area NO3 by – on average – 10 øre per kilowatt hour over the next three years. That is somewhat higher than previous estimates from other analysis companies.

Should such a price increase materialise, the annual electricity bill could rise by around 2,500 kroner; that is, the monthly price could increase by just over 200 kroner for a household in central Norway with an annual consumption of 25,000 kilowatt hours, according to Afry.

“We estimate this would increase the price in the NO3 zone by approximately 10 øre per kilowatt-hour up to and including 2026. After that, the effect would be somewhat reduced, and then it would be down to 3-4 øre per kilowatt-hour higher prices than what they would otherwise be.

“We see that removing the wind turbines would also have an effect further north and make electricity perhaps 7–8 øre more expensive in northern Norway. Further south in the country, on the other hand, it would have very little effect,” Kathrine Stene Bakke in Afry Management Consulting told the newspaper E24.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ENVIRONMENT

Norway to be taken to court by WWF over deep sea mining

The World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Norwegian chapter said Thursday it would take legal action against Norway for opening up its seabed to mining before performing sufficient impact studies.

Norway to be taken to court by WWF over deep sea mining

Already Western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, Norway could become one of the first countries to authorise seabed mining, arguing the importance of not relying on China or authoritarian countries for minerals essential for renewable technology.

While deep-sea mining is contentious due to its potential impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems, Norway’s parliament in January formally gave its green light to open up parts of its seabed to exploration.

“Norway’s decision to proceed with opening up vast areas of ocean for destructive mining, is an unprecedented management scandal,” Karoline Andaur, CEO of WWF Norway, said in a statement.

“We have never before seen a Norwegian government so arrogantly ignore all scientific advice and defy the warnings of a united marine research community,” she continued.

According to WWF, the impact studies carried out by Norway’s energy ministry did not meet the criteria required by Norwegian law.

During the public hearing process, the Norwegian Environment Agency — a government agency — reached the same conclusion, citing “significant gaps in the knowledge about nature, technology and environmental impact.”

Several countries, including France and the UK, have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, and the European Parliament expressed concern following Norway’s decision to move forward.

Meanwhile, Oslo maintains that by allowing the prospecting it wants to fill in gaps in knowledge to determine whether undersea mining can take place without serious impact on the environment. Otherwise, it will not be authorised.

“We believe that a thorough process has been carried out with broad involvement, and that the applicable requirements have been followed,” Astrid Bergmal, state secretary at Norway’s Ministry of Energy, told AFP in an email Thursday.

On April 12th, the Ministry announced that it was opening up an area of the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Seas to exploration, with the aim of awarding the first licences in the first half of 2025.

In early 2023, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published a report concluding that “substantial resources are in place on the seabed” including minerals such as copper, zinc and cobalt.

Among other uses, they are crucial for the manufacturing of batteries, wind turbines, computers and mobile phones.

SHOW COMMENTS