The areas Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II were opened for offshore renewable … Contact online >>
The areas Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II were opened for offshore renewable
Norway-EU energy cooperation. Norway has a close cooperation with the EU on
Questions and answers about the Longship project. Article 11/10/2024. The
Clean energy is expanding: the world added 50% more renewable capacity in 2023 than in 2022 and the next 5 years will see the fastest growth, according to the latest renewables energy report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
This might sound promising, especially after last year''s COP28 in Dubai, where the government agreed on the need to shift away from fossil fuels and affirm the need to triple investments in energy financing and to double investments in energy efficiency measures.
The IEA''s projection however shows that coal power output is also going up, even higher than what the agency had expected in its last year''s World Energy Outlook, indicating that countries are still struggling to leave fossil fuels behind.
The agency highlights that under the existing policies and market conditions, the world''s renewable power capacity to grow to 7.3TW between 2023 and 2028, where wind and solar will remain one of the cheapest sources of new power generation in most of the world.
But the shift does not have to happen solely because of rejecting emission-intensive energy sources. The truth is that the size of the power system has to triple over the next 25 years to support the future energy demand: "Getting to net zero is almost a $200 trillion investment opportunity," said Colin McKerracher, head of transport sector at BloombergNEF.
As countries have to increase their energy security while cutting emissions, the peculiarity of each nation''s energy sector makes them face different challenges for them to achieve this goal.
Norway is a controversial case. The Nordic nation has a fully renewable power system which mostly derives from hydro power and some wind power generation, making electricity fully green. The country has a strong distribution grid, compared to many other nations.
Almost all cars sold in the country are electric vehicles (EV), whereas according to the Norwegian EV association Norsk Elbil Forening, 27 international car brands - including Fiat, Hyundai, and Volkswagen - are now only exporting their electric models to the Nordic.
However, since 1990, the country has only cut 4.6 % of emissions, whereas its 2030 emissions target is to reduce at least 55%.
The country faces several challenges, such as accelerating a scale-up of renewable energy, and increase its storage capacity and flexibility in order to tackle a diverse energy production.
Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norwegian Minister of Climate and the Environment, said during the University of Oslo''s The Future of Energy is Green and Digital conference, that the task: "will require an unprecedented transition away from fossil fuels and industries,".
Still one of the largest employment sectors is the oil and gas industry - nearly 200,000 people work in the petroleum sector in firms such as the oil company Equinor - and shifting away could constitute a self-inflicted stab for any government trying to avoid mass layoffs and a job market crisis.
The Norwegian energy minister Terje Aasland, during the yearly licensing round to distribute licenses for oil explorations which granted 65 new licences to 27 companies, said indeed that it is not Norway''s plan to lower fossil fuel extraction, especially in a moment where Europe needs to shift away from Russian energy dependence.
Eriksen said however that one of the country''s plans is to foster technologies to have more land-based wind power generation and more energy efficiency.
As told by Jan-Fredrik Stadaas, corporate strategy manager at Equinor, the company is investing approximately $34.2 billion to set up renewable energy farms, but some of the projects are delayed because sites not yet made available.
The country has already been hit by land grabbing scandals as the previous energy ministry had granted a licence for two wind farms to be built in one of the protected indigenous Sami area. Despite in 2021, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Sámi Fovsen Njaarke reindeer herding districts, stating that the wind farms in the area were a violation of the Sámi community''s rights, the wind farms are still operated.
Another challenge for the green transition is set as the future power grid will become increasingly complex and demand balancing acts and optimization.
A big bet for the minister lies in machine learning utilizing generative AI. Eriksen said that integrating unregulated offshore wind power into the Norwegian power system could be made simple by placing data in a systemized way with these new tools: "We have a great opportunity to do that in Norway because we have so much regulated hydropower," he told.
Digitalization, said Erikesen, should also support the clean energy transition by allowing to development of new business models, and systems to improve efficient energy. This, while "trying to do as little impact on nature as possible," he added.
The government''s promise to limit environmental impact, however are a new contentious issue as the Norwegian government and parliament decided on 9 January to open up the Norwegian continental shelf to possible extraction of seabed minerals.
These minerals are abundant in China and in some African countries, and are now in high demand as they are needed to form components of renewable energy technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries: "We see an incredible dependency from China today," said Adel El Gammal, secretary general of the European Energy Research Alliance, adding that Europe buys almost 96% of its reactors for wind powers from China, and the country can manufacture 95% of the total yearly PV cells production.
Norway''s attempt to exit from China''s dependency zone and become a new market player and partner for Europe - like for gas - is met by heavy critiques.
National and international NGOs and government bodies say this decision poses a huge danger to the global marine life in Norway, as well as in the whole Arctic: "The deep sea is the world''s largest carbon reservoir and our last untouched wilderness, with unique wildlife and important habitats that do not exist anywhere else on Earth", said Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, global policy lead for WWF''s No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative, adding the decision leaves ''a big stain on Norway''s reputation as a responsible ocean nation''.
"The reasoning for opening an area (...) is that we need to do that in a structured manner, to have the option to know in 10 years when it might be applicable," responded Bjelland Eriksen adding that the government is ready to say no to specific projects if it is not possible to do so in a sustainable way.
According to Alexandra Bech Gjørv, ceo at one of the most successful European research centers SINTEF, it is ''research that is solving today''s big problems'' and this sector should be heavily subsidised. If Norway wants to go ahead with its deep-sea mining plan securing low environmental impact, it needs to invest in monitoring methods: "Right now we don''t have the technology to monitor the environment," she said.
Given the country is still far from achieving its 2030 emissions reduction target of 55%, new technologies could help Norway to a certain extend. Realistic emissions reduction plan will require more drastic measures, that resize downwards the fossil fuel sector, and allow to reimage a way to meet societal needs.
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The Climate and Energy Strategy for Oslo covers 16 initiatives on urban development, transport, buildings and governance.
Urban development and transport
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