Norway identifies 13 areas of interest for new wind projects

OSLO (Reuters) – The Norwegian energy regulator NVE has identified 13 areas it considers the most conducive to the development of new onshore wind farms, mainly in the south of the country, the group said on Monday.

Investments in wind energy are booming in Norway, while development costs are declining, with a construction capacity of about 1.8 gigawatts (GW) added to the current operating fleets of 1, 7 GW.

The 13 areas contain 16,705 square kilometers of recommended land and were selected from the 43 areas considered, said the Water Resources and Energy Branch (NVE) in a proposal to the Ministry of Petroleum and Oil & Gas. 39; Energy.

"These areas are highlighted by comparing the production conditions and the capacity of the network with the effects on the environment and society," said ΝVE.

Although the NVE badysis showed that many areas of northern Norway offered better conditions for wind, most of the designated areas were in the south because of the limited northern grid capacity and extensive areas used by reindeer herders.

Many indigenous Sami in Norway oppose wind farms because construction and project-related roads can destroy or degrade lands traditionally used by reindeer.

By identifying the areas of focus for wind energy, the NVA hopes to simplify the approval process, although projects must always be examined individually, he said.

By the end of 2018, there were 610 operating wind turbines in Norway, spread over 35 different plants. These have a total installed capacity of 1695 megawatts and will have a total production of 5.3 terawatt hours (TWh) during a normal year.

In comparison, Norway's hydropower, by far the largest source of electricity production in the country, produces about 136 TWh of electricity, which is 94% of Norwegian production.