STATE COUNCIL’S OFFICE (Nettavisen): Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) sits down with Nettavisen after a few turbulent days.
We will talk about why Norway has to pay tens of billions in subsidies to build one of the most expensive forms of electricity production there is. A type of production that NVE warns about the consequences of.
At the same time, the government does not even want to allow research into nuclear power. Norwegians, on the other hand, are more negative about sea wind.
– Now I will try to explain why it is important, he says, and leans forward.
Bad news in a row
The backdrop is not particularly happy: At first the government thought that the first offshore wind project in Norway could be profitable without subsidies. Now they are willing to put NOK 23 billion into the pot.
This gigantic sum has not convinced the industry: Last week it became known that so many heavy companies have withdrawn from the battle to build out, that it is uncertain whether there will be enough people to start the auction.
Why we got an answer right afterwards: England is sending the subsidies skyward on offshore wind, after they just experienced a lack of interest in their previous auction.
The British are now willing to give developers of offshore wind a guaranteed electricity price of up to NOK 3 per kWh over many years.
This is far, far more expensive than even the most expensive nuclear power plants. The scandalous project in Finland probably has a cost of less than one kroner per kWh. NVE estimates the cost of nuclear power generally for 78 øre.
Recently, NVE also came out with a major report in which they strongly warned that offshore wind was not only expensive in itself, but that it would lead to higher grid rent because you have to have so much backup capacity.
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There is one argument that is most important
Aasland is nevertheless unwavering in his belief in offshore wind:
– Norwegian offshore wind has three dimensions: More renewable energy and the opportunity to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But the most important thing is that we create a new foundation for the Norwegian supplier industry, which enables them to take a place in the global market, says Aasland.
When you first have to spend a huge amount of money on new electricity production, Aasland wants Norway to get something more than just electricity:
– If we are to expand on the Norwegian continental shelf, it is an investment which, according to Sintef’s rough calculations, is NOK 1,000 billion. That’s just the domestic market. It is incredibly interesting in terms of floating technology, composition, development of platforms and high-voltage connections (HVDC) which we are already well underway with for the offshore facilities. Aibel is a good example of that, he says.
Or put another way: Norway knows a lot about pulling power cables out to large installations far out at sea.
In addition, there is the need for electricity in other countries: He points out that the European the market in the North Sea alone will be 10-fold. Nobody knows how big it will be globally, but:
– It will be huge! There will thus be an enormous future opportunity for the Norwegian supplier industry, says Aasland.
– The offshore wind investment will provide an enormous opportunity for the supplier industry in Norway to gain a leg to stand on. It is a very nice bridge between the oil and gas industry and offshore wind, especially floating wind, with the expertise, experience and technology that we have developed over 50 years.
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– Why is it so important for the government to stop us?
No Norwegian industry in nuclear power
The Minister of State then takes over the job as the person asking questions:
– So I can ask you: What is the advantage of developing nuclear power in Norway?
He knows the answer to the rhetorical question: There is hardly anyone who believes that Norway should develop nuclear power, just buy ready-made solutions from abroad.
– There is no development! There are no industrial players who will participate. There are some financial institutions that can bring nuclear power plants here to Norway. Someone is setting it up – foreign companies – and then there are perhaps some operators who are going to be here. But there is no industrial dimension in the nuclear power investment, says the minister.
In a total account for a country, it is naturally important whether the money goes to develop industry with jobs and exports, or whether it goes out of the country as a “purchase of goods”.
Price explosion – both here and there
But in order to have a product to export, Norway must be able to offer a price the world is willing to pay. With NOK 3 per kWh, the export market will be minimal.
Aasland, on the other hand, refuses to be part of England’s new subsidies becoming the facet of the cost:
– I do not agree that NOK 3 will be the price. The price will be well under one kroner, I think. But we need to industrialize, we need to scale, we need to get started so that the costs go down, says a confident minister.
– With Norwegian expertise, Norwegian engineers, design, assembly and understanding of offshore operations, Norwegian businesses can help bring costs down on floating offshore wind. It will be possible to take quantum leaps to bring costs down, says Aasland.
He also points out that it is not just offshore wind that has become more expensive.
– What we are seeing with offshore wind right now is that many of the input factors have increased significantly in price. The turbines, cables, steel and so on have become more expensive, says Aasland.
– In nuclear power, you have to use steel, you have to use clay that goes around, and you need cables to carry the electrons. So the cost picture will be demanding regardless of whether it is an industrial project, offshore wind or nuclear power. I don’t know if Norsk Kjernekraft has received options that mean they have received cheaper cable, cheaper solutions or cheaper steel, he asks rhetorically.
The door is open for nuclear power
Nevertheless, the minister does not close the door on nuclear power, which has steady production and a lot of surplus heat:
– I have not said that I rule out nuclear power in the future, because nuclear power is being developed. It may be that the small, modular nuclear power plants (SMR) will come. It may be that they can manage to produce at slightly lower costs, he says expectantly.
He envisages that nuclear power plants should primarily be connected directly to industry that has the same steady power requirement.
– But then the consumption of 300 megawatts must be able to match the investment, he says.
This is the type that Norwegian Nuclear Power wants to build in Norway. But Aasland has noticed precisely this with small nuclear power plants.
– There are quite small power plants. 300 megawatts is not a lot. If you had set up something like this in Grenland, it would not be enough to cover the increased demand that Yara needs there, which is 550 megawatts, he says.
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Do you need nuclear power research to build?
There has been quite a stir that the Research Council has excluded nuclear power from a larger call for research into environmentally friendly energy (FME). The FRP tried in the Storting to remove this restriction, without success.
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– Why don’t you want to research it?
– Because we direct our research efforts towards the areas where we believe we have industrial experience and industrial future opportunities. You say yourself that you see no industrial future for the development of nuclear power in Norway. There are no suppliers, there is no one who knows how we develop that competence, he says.
He points out that Norway’s opportunities lie in offshore wind, hydropower and in relation to the oil and gas sector. Plans are being made, among other things, for a massive investment in “blue” hydrogen production with carbon capture.
– Does that mean that you are open to being able to build nuclear power in Norway, if there were someone who wanted to do it, without having done the research first?
– We have a lot of nuclear power expertise, such as basic expertise and research on this with certainty. And then we will probably get a message now from Norsk Kjernekraft about a possible establishment in one place. We must deal with that seriously, of course. My pleasure. And then we have to carry out studies on how this fits into the Norwegian power system. Will it be positive or negative? Will it contribute to increased prices or lower prices?
2023-11-21 04:55:21
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