12 WHY NORWAY AS A GREEN BATTERY …
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quo, whereas others push for change. First, it enables explanations as
to why Statnett has lobbied for subsea cables, as more European renewable energy increases the need for power exchange with countries that
have energy storage (i.e., Norway). It also increases Statnett’s potential
for bottleneck income: Norwegian renewable electricity can be stored
(hydropower) and can be sold when the price is high. In contrast, wind
and solar power from the continent cannot be stored and must be
exported when there is a surplus, i.e., when the price is at its lowest.
Second, breaking down incumbent interests also enables explanations as
to why wind power has become more attractive, with the introduction of
the green certificates and the dramatic cost reductions for wind power.
Why would we reasonably anticipate a different result than Gullberg
(2013)? First, the climate threat and thus the need for renewable energy
has only grown since 2013. Second, as suggested above, the strength of
the vested interests that favor the green battery idea can reasonably be
assumed to have increased. Thus, one might expect that politicians to a
greater extent have come to favor the green battery idea and increasingly
use climate arguments to legitimize this. As we shall see, this has not to
any great extent happened.
Is Norway Already a Green Battery?
In one sense, Norway has been a green battery for many years already,
with decades of power trading between the Nordic countries. Nord
Pool was founded in 1996 by Norway and Sweden as a Nordic power
exchange, with Denmark and Finland joining by 2000, and power trading
with Sweden goes back to 1960. The basic idea was to have a reliable
power exchange between neighboring countries with rather complementary power situations: Norway has large reservoirs of hydropower,
Denmark has wind power, Sweden has hydropower, wind power, biomass,
and nuclear power, and Finland also has biomass and nuclear power. The
Norwegian rhetoric surrounding Nord Pool has however not contained
notions of green battery. Instead, Nord Pool has enhanced the security
of supply for Norway by allowing power exchange between the Nordic
countries (Energifaktanorge 2020a; TU 2019a).
Yet, this power exchange has allowed Norway to become a green
battery of sorts for Denmark. In 2019, Denmark derived 47% of its
electricity consumption from wind power, the highest figure of any industrialized country. The Danish success however relies heavily on four
287
quo, whereas others push for change. First, it enables explanations as
to why Statnett has lobbied for subsea cables, as more European renewable energy increases the need for power exchange with countries that
have energy storage (i.e., Norway). It also increases Statnett’s potential
for bottleneck income: Norwegian renewable electricity can be stored
(hydropower) and can be sold when the price is high. In contrast, wind
and solar power from the continent cannot be stored and must be
exported when there is a surplus, i.e., when the price is at its lowest.
Second, breaking down incumbent interests also enables explanations as
to why wind power has become more attractive, with the introduction of
the green certificates and the dramatic cost reductions for wind power.
Why would we reasonably anticipate a different result than Gullberg
(2013)? First, the climate threat and thus the need for renewable energy
has only grown since 2013. Second, as suggested above, the strength of
the vested interests that favor the green battery idea can reasonably be
assumed to have increased. Thus, one might expect that politicians to a
greater extent have come to favor the green battery idea and increasingly
use climate arguments to legitimize this. As we shall see, this has not to
any great extent happened.
Is Norway Already a Green Battery?
In one sense, Norway has been a green battery for many years already,
with decades of power trading between the Nordic countries. Nord
Pool was founded in 1996 by Norway and Sweden as a Nordic power
exchange, with Denmark and Finland joining by 2000, and power trading
with Sweden goes back to 1960. The basic idea was to have a reliable
power exchange between neighboring countries with rather complementary power situations: Norway has large reservoirs of hydropower,
Denmark has wind power, Sweden has hydropower, wind power, biomass,
and nuclear power, and Finland also has biomass and nuclear power. The
Norwegian rhetoric surrounding Nord Pool has however not contained
notions of green battery. Instead, Nord Pool has enhanced the security
of supply for Norway by allowing power exchange between the Nordic
countries (Energifaktanorge 2020a; TU 2019a).
Yet, this power exchange has allowed Norway to become a green
battery of sorts for Denmark. In 2019, Denmark derived 47% of its
electricity consumption from wind power, the highest figure of any industrialized country. The Danish success however relies heavily on four