“The irony is that Hydro moves bauxite around half the land to use our waterfalls, almost free of charge, to produce aluminum. Socially and economically, this is a disaster for the environment and society.”
last match This is a discussion post, written by an outside contributor. The publication expresses the positions of the author.
The aluminum industry was established in Norway due to the rich supply of hydropower. Smelters were set up near the power plant because power could not be transported over long distances or exported.
We now have national and European market integration. Hydro is the second largest energy producer in Norway and the fifth largest aluminum producer in the world.
The irony is that Hydro takes out bauxite in Brazil, and then moves bauxite around half the land to use our waterfalls, almost free of charge, to produce aluminum. Socially and economically, this is a disaster for both the environment and society.
The green transition will require increasingly clean and renewable electric energy. Norway’s current production of fossil-free energy does not cover the need and we must, seasonally, purchase coal-produced electric power from Europe. We should start actively phasing out aluminum production in Norway and instead using this pure power for a daily life of electrification.
In this way, we will have the ability to serve our total consumption without using the electricity produced from coal, gas or oil energy. Going green is first and foremost about changing value creation.
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