12 WHY NORWAY AS A GREEN BATTERY …
307
reservoirs have little water. If Norway does not approve any cables beyond
NordLink and North Sea Link, the capacity to act as a green battery
will however be limited to 9 GW. Increased energy production would
be used within Norway, leading to falling electricity prices rather than
European emissions reductions. Granted, there will still be need for more
electricity—the two new cables increase the export potential from 6.2 to
9 GW, and more power is required to electrify sectors like transportation,
construction, and land-based industry. Thus, Norway will arguably see
more wind power installed, but the rate of expansion will slow down, and
the additional power will be used domestically. It does not bring about a
green battery.
If our vantage point is instead that with an almost fully renewable electricity sector and the best renewable resources in Europe, Norway’s ability
to contribute to solving global climate problems is through the deployment and sale of renewable energy to Europe, and to act as a balancer of
intermittent renewable power on the Continent, the green battery idea
makes more sense. If so, then Norway should install more wind power
and build more cables.
Grid and utility companies profit from electricity exports. They prefer
more cables. However, the threat of higher electricity prices for industry
and households is a major hurdle for strategies aimed at exporting more
electricity. How big this cost is, today and in an unknown future, is both
contentious and politicized. For politicians, higher electricity prices are
unpopular with voters. For industry, it makes little sense—economically
and environmentally—to relinquish one of Norway’s main competitive
advantages, i.e., cheap and carbon-free electricity for a large energyintensive industrial sector. Thus, for Norway to become a green battery,
significant obstacles must be overcome, and a balance struck between the
two main vested interests, the power sector and the industry. Meanwhile,
conservation concerns and rising popular opposition against wind turbines
must be more seriously taken into account.
How do Norwegian politicians relate to the green battery concept and
the broader climate discussion surrounding it? First, what was striking
was that very few had any enthusiasm for the green battery idea. Many
expressed how the term obscured what was the real issue, namely power
exchange and Norway providing balancing power to Europe. While
Norway has Europe’s largest hydro storage capacity, Germany could alone
easily consume all the electricity that Norway generates. Thus, the potential Norwegian contribution, while significant both from a power and a
climate perspective, is limited.
307
reservoirs have little water. If Norway does not approve any cables beyond
NordLink and North Sea Link, the capacity to act as a green battery
will however be limited to 9 GW. Increased energy production would
be used within Norway, leading to falling electricity prices rather than
European emissions reductions. Granted, there will still be need for more
electricity—the two new cables increase the export potential from 6.2 to
9 GW, and more power is required to electrify sectors like transportation,
construction, and land-based industry. Thus, Norway will arguably see
more wind power installed, but the rate of expansion will slow down, and
the additional power will be used domestically. It does not bring about a
green battery.
If our vantage point is instead that with an almost fully renewable electricity sector and the best renewable resources in Europe, Norway’s ability
to contribute to solving global climate problems is through the deployment and sale of renewable energy to Europe, and to act as a balancer of
intermittent renewable power on the Continent, the green battery idea
makes more sense. If so, then Norway should install more wind power
and build more cables.
Grid and utility companies profit from electricity exports. They prefer
more cables. However, the threat of higher electricity prices for industry
and households is a major hurdle for strategies aimed at exporting more
electricity. How big this cost is, today and in an unknown future, is both
contentious and politicized. For politicians, higher electricity prices are
unpopular with voters. For industry, it makes little sense—economically
and environmentally—to relinquish one of Norway’s main competitive
advantages, i.e., cheap and carbon-free electricity for a large energyintensive industrial sector. Thus, for Norway to become a green battery,
significant obstacles must be overcome, and a balance struck between the
two main vested interests, the power sector and the industry. Meanwhile,
conservation concerns and rising popular opposition against wind turbines
must be more seriously taken into account.
How do Norwegian politicians relate to the green battery concept and
the broader climate discussion surrounding it? First, what was striking
was that very few had any enthusiasm for the green battery idea. Many
expressed how the term obscured what was the real issue, namely power
exchange and Norway providing balancing power to Europe. While
Norway has Europe’s largest hydro storage capacity, Germany could alone
easily consume all the electricity that Norway generates. Thus, the potential Norwegian contribution, while significant both from a power and a
climate perspective, is limited.