12 WHY NORWAY AS A GREEN BATTERY …
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power and 36% against, with 70% in favor if it is offshore (NRK 2019b).
Polls however also show that despite a very polarized debate, two out of
three are indecisive or not feeling particularly strongly about the subject
(Linnerud et al. 2019).
In 2019, NVE published its national plan for wind power, to identify suitable and non-suitable areas for wind power development. The
intention was to replace regional wind power plans, reducing the conflict
level among sector interests and increasing the predictability of decisionmaking. However, of the 101 municipalities singled out as suitable for
wind power, only 5 said yes. 78 said outright no. The government
ultimately shelved the plan (Inderberg et al. 2019; TU 2019b).
Thus, faced with the necessary evils of the green battery scenario—
wind farms and cables—major parts of the environmental movement and
the overall population favor domestic nature conservation over increased
renewable energy production and exports. Although the environmental
organizations are fully aware that climate change is a global challenge,
domestically it often does not trump the stronghold of nature conservation. Some environmental organizations certainly advocate the green
battery argument, but there is no unanimity.
The Industry
The first prerequisite for the green battery scenario, installing more wind
power to generate a greater power surplus, meets little resistance from
industry as more wind power yields lower energy prices and hence benefits industry. Building subsea cables is more contentious. The fear in the
energy-intensive industry, where energy may account for 45–50% of the
total costs (Løfsnes 2018, interview), is that more energy exports lead to
higher domestic electricity prices. For the energy-intensive industry, cheap
electricity is one of its main competitive advantages. Industry interests
argue that it would be folly to let the greenest energy-intensive industries
in Europe suffer higher power prices and lose competitiveness compared
to foreign competitors and far less green energy-intensive industries elsewhere. Accounting for 7% of GDP, energy-intensive industry is a potent
political stakeholder, with strong ties to the Labor Party and the far left.
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), where most of
the energy-intensive industry is organized, has of approved the construction of the current subsea cables. Others are less supportive. The far-left
think tank Manifest Tankesmie sees the green battery idea as pushed
295
power and 36% against, with 70% in favor if it is offshore (NRK 2019b).
Polls however also show that despite a very polarized debate, two out of
three are indecisive or not feeling particularly strongly about the subject
(Linnerud et al. 2019).
In 2019, NVE published its national plan for wind power, to identify suitable and non-suitable areas for wind power development. The
intention was to replace regional wind power plans, reducing the conflict
level among sector interests and increasing the predictability of decisionmaking. However, of the 101 municipalities singled out as suitable for
wind power, only 5 said yes. 78 said outright no. The government
ultimately shelved the plan (Inderberg et al. 2019; TU 2019b).
Thus, faced with the necessary evils of the green battery scenario—
wind farms and cables—major parts of the environmental movement and
the overall population favor domestic nature conservation over increased
renewable energy production and exports. Although the environmental
organizations are fully aware that climate change is a global challenge,
domestically it often does not trump the stronghold of nature conservation. Some environmental organizations certainly advocate the green
battery argument, but there is no unanimity.
The Industry
The first prerequisite for the green battery scenario, installing more wind
power to generate a greater power surplus, meets little resistance from
industry as more wind power yields lower energy prices and hence benefits industry. Building subsea cables is more contentious. The fear in the
energy-intensive industry, where energy may account for 45–50% of the
total costs (Løfsnes 2018, interview), is that more energy exports lead to
higher domestic electricity prices. For the energy-intensive industry, cheap
electricity is one of its main competitive advantages. Industry interests
argue that it would be folly to let the greenest energy-intensive industries
in Europe suffer higher power prices and lose competitiveness compared
to foreign competitors and far less green energy-intensive industries elsewhere. Accounting for 7% of GDP, energy-intensive industry is a potent
political stakeholder, with strong ties to the Labor Party and the far left.
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), where most of
the energy-intensive industry is organized, has of approved the construction of the current subsea cables. Others are less supportive. The far-left
think tank Manifest Tankesmie sees the green battery idea as pushed