CHAPTER 12
Why Norway as a Green Battery for Europe Is
Still to Happen, and Probably Will Not
Espen Moe, Susanne Therese Hansen, and Eirik Hovland Kjær
Introduction
The notion of Norway as a green battery goes back approximately a
decade. In 2011, an International Energy Agency (IEA) report discussed
the potential role of Norway as a green battery for Germany, Great
Britain, and the Netherlands. In Germany, Der Spiegel (2010) had
earlier written about how chancellor Angela Merkel’s green revolution
would benefit from Norway as a green battery. When Germany in 2011
decided to phase out nuclear power, imports of clean Norwegian energy
gained attraction. Merkel demonstrated her interest by getting personally
involved in securing an agreement on the construction of subsea cables
from Norway to Germany (Aftenposten 2012). The interest was however
not confined to Germany; in 2011, then Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
E. Moe (B) · S. T. Hansen
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim,
Norway
e-mail: Espen.Moe@ntnu.no
E. H. Kjær
Oslo, Norway
© The Author(s) 2021
P. Midford and E. Moe (eds.), New Challenges and Solutions
for Renewable Energy, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54514-7_12
281
Why Norway as a Green Battery for Europe Is
Still to Happen, and Probably Will Not
Espen Moe, Susanne Therese Hansen, and Eirik Hovland Kjær
Introduction
The notion of Norway as a green battery goes back approximately a
decade. In 2011, an International Energy Agency (IEA) report discussed
the potential role of Norway as a green battery for Germany, Great
Britain, and the Netherlands. In Germany, Der Spiegel (2010) had
earlier written about how chancellor Angela Merkel’s green revolution
would benefit from Norway as a green battery. When Germany in 2011
decided to phase out nuclear power, imports of clean Norwegian energy
gained attraction. Merkel demonstrated her interest by getting personally
involved in securing an agreement on the construction of subsea cables
from Norway to Germany (Aftenposten 2012). The interest was however
not confined to Germany; in 2011, then Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
E. Moe (B) · S. T. Hansen
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim,
Norway
e-mail: Espen.Moe@ntnu.no
E. H. Kjær
Oslo, Norway
© The Author(s) 2021
P. Midford and E. Moe (eds.), New Challenges and Solutions
for Renewable Energy, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54514-7_12
281