12 WHY NORWAY AS A GREEN BATTERY …
297
interest. Arguably, the climate is better served through the green manufacturing of energy-intensive products, accomplishable by few countries
beyond Norway.
The Power Sector
The electricity producers, as well as the transmission system operator,
Statnett, are in favor of exporting electricity to markets where the electricity price is higher than in Norway. With an inherent interest in
wind power installations and cable construction, the power sector is
therefore an expected advocate of the green battery. Indeed, Steinar
Bysveen (2018, interview) of state-owned Statkraft—the largest Norwegian power producer and the largest producer of renewable electricity
in Europe, most of this hydropower—even claims that Statkraft invented
the green battery idea (or at least used it a lot), as they realized that
the German Energiewende generated major need for backup capacity and
power exchange in Germany.
However, beyond this, what we see from all our power sector interviewees (as well as many of the other interviewees) is an emphasis on how
the green battery idea distorts the debate by making it all about Norway
supplying Europe with massive amounts of hydropower. The reality is that
Norway is making good money from power exchange. Subsea cables are
about linking (and thus enlarging) markets to exchange power and utilize
renewable energy better. The need and potential for power exchange
increases with more renewable energy capacity on the Continent. Hence,
notwithstanding seasonal fluctuations 10 and differences between cables, 11
in the long run this is more about power exchange than about exports.
To the extent that the power sector focuses beyond the state, it is on
the Nordic region as much as the EU. As Statnett director of customer
and public affairs, Erik Skjelbred (2018) told us, the focus for future cable
construction may shift toward the Nordic countries as EU processes are
extremely slow and heavy. But MOPE-owned Statnett—responsible for
the Norwegian power grid (the stem net), interconnectors, and subsea
cables abroad—has social profits as its mandate. Thus, subsea cables will
be built whenever socially profitable. This does however not mean that
Statnett is a voice for more cables regardless. The two cables already under
construction will, according to Skjelbred, change the interconnector landscape sufficiently for Statnett to need to gain experiences with the two
new cables before further cables are built.
297
interest. Arguably, the climate is better served through the green manufacturing of energy-intensive products, accomplishable by few countries
beyond Norway.
The Power Sector
The electricity producers, as well as the transmission system operator,
Statnett, are in favor of exporting electricity to markets where the electricity price is higher than in Norway. With an inherent interest in
wind power installations and cable construction, the power sector is
therefore an expected advocate of the green battery. Indeed, Steinar
Bysveen (2018, interview) of state-owned Statkraft—the largest Norwegian power producer and the largest producer of renewable electricity
in Europe, most of this hydropower—even claims that Statkraft invented
the green battery idea (or at least used it a lot), as they realized that
the German Energiewende generated major need for backup capacity and
power exchange in Germany.
However, beyond this, what we see from all our power sector interviewees (as well as many of the other interviewees) is an emphasis on how
the green battery idea distorts the debate by making it all about Norway
supplying Europe with massive amounts of hydropower. The reality is that
Norway is making good money from power exchange. Subsea cables are
about linking (and thus enlarging) markets to exchange power and utilize
renewable energy better. The need and potential for power exchange
increases with more renewable energy capacity on the Continent. Hence,
notwithstanding seasonal fluctuations 10 and differences between cables, 11
in the long run this is more about power exchange than about exports.
To the extent that the power sector focuses beyond the state, it is on
the Nordic region as much as the EU. As Statnett director of customer
and public affairs, Erik Skjelbred (2018) told us, the focus for future cable
construction may shift toward the Nordic countries as EU processes are
extremely slow and heavy. But MOPE-owned Statnett—responsible for
the Norwegian power grid (the stem net), interconnectors, and subsea
cables abroad—has social profits as its mandate. Thus, subsea cables will
be built whenever socially profitable. This does however not mean that
Statnett is a voice for more cables regardless. The two cables already under
construction will, according to Skjelbred, change the interconnector landscape sufficiently for Statnett to need to gain experiences with the two
new cables before further cables are built.