The largest hydropower plant under construction is a “mini-putt” compared to the largest – NRK Vestland

It is just over a year since the Energy Commission presented the report which called for at least 40 TWh in increased power production by 2030.

To achieve this, there should be a target of 7 TWh of new hydropower, was one of the conclusions of the majority in the selection.

(1 Terrawatt hour TWh is one billion kilowatt hours. Drammen has a consumption of 1TWh and Oslo a consumption of around 9 TWh.)

But what is underway with new hydropower is not enough to fulfill the ambition.

Right now, the largest hydropower plant is under construction in the country at Feios, a small village in Vik municipality in indre Sogn.

– The development of Feios Power Plant will create major positive ripple effects both for the local community and the wider community in general, says mayor Roy Egil Stadheim in the presentation to Sognekraft.

But the new plant is a trifle compared to the largest, established power plants.

• The plant has an expected annual production of 98 GWh. This corresponds to the consumption of around 4,000 detached houses.
• The largest hydropower plant today is Tonstad in Sirdal municipality in Agder, which started in 1968, with a average annual production of around 3,800 GWh. That is 38 times more than Feios and corresponds to the consumption of 152,000 detached houses.
• The largest hydropower plant measured in output is Kvilldal power plant in Suldal municipality in Rogaland, with an installed output of 1,240 megawatts. That is 41 times more than Feios, which has an installed output of 30 megawatts.

Satisfied with development

Executive director Erlend Bårgard for production at Sognekraft is not surprised at how small the new plant will be, compared to the biggest colossuses.

– It comes from the fact that the largest facilities were built when the country was built a long time ago. Then there are many of the large waterways that are permanently protected. But there is still a lot of potential to develop.

Instead of new, large giant projects, he rather highlights the sum of small projects and upgrading of existing facilities. Sognekraft has developed 500 GWh in the last ten years.

Too little power

In the Norwegian Water and Energy Directorate’s (NVE) power market analysis, which was last updated in December 2023, it appears that it is expected that hydropower production will increase by around 8 TWh until 2040.

That would mean roughly the same increase as the Energy Commission indicated, but delayed by 10 years.

NVE also writes in the report that there is great uncertainty about how much additional hydropower will actually become available.

The expected increase is, among other things, linked to planned hydropower projects, expansion of power and increased inflow.

NVE wrote to NRK that the expected increase up to 2030 is 4.6 TWh, compared to today (137.4 TWh to 142 TWh). And that the further increase towards 2040 is expected to be lower, even if the forecasts here are more uncertain.

– Ambitious

Renewable Norway believes that hydropower is an important and flexible power resource “in a system where increasingly variable wind and solar power comes in”.

However, I am still unsure whether the Energy Commission’s objectives can be implemented.

– We believe that the estimate of 7 TWh of new hydropower was very ambitious. To cover the increasing demand for power and avoid power deficits, onshore wind power is the most affordable and fastest source, says director of production and renewable energy, Øistein Schmidt Galaaen.

The government replies that “several steps have been taken to shorten the processing time”.

– I cannot anticipate the time it will take or the outcome of individual cases, but I can assure you that it is a high priority work area for the government, says State Secretary Elisabeth Sæther in the Ministry of Energy (Ap).

She points out that “several of the power producers now announce that they are working on upgrading their hydropower plants».