Wind energy cut electricity bills by thousands last year – E24

On behalf of Norwea, Thema Consulting investigated the impact of wind power on Norwegian electricity bills last year.

According to the model that deals with the hourly supply and demand of electricity in the European energy market, wind energy has saved a typical home between 2,000 and 4,500 kronor, depending on where you live in the country in which you live.

If Norway did not have wind power production, the energy price would have been on average about eight øre per kilowatt-hour higher in southern Norway and about 18 øre per kilowatt-hour higher in central and northern Norway, according to the report.

Client Norwea is an industry organization that promotes renewable electricity production.

CEO Åslaug Haga is conservative that the numbers may be inaccurate, but he believes the findings in the report show a clear trend.

– If we want to be able to deal with electricity prices, more energy has to enter the market. Wind power on Earth is currently unpopular in many circles, but there is reason to believe attitudes are about to change after the price hikes we’ve seen during the fall and winter, she said.

Wind energy accounts for about 11 percent of Norway’s energy consumption.

– Not the time for wind energy

Wind energy often creates powerful debates, especially about the encroachments on nature that it involves.

Haga says Norwea has an ongoing dialogue with several nature conservation organizations about the balance between energy development and nature conservation.

– We are very concerned that everyone should talk together. The level of conflict must be reduced, and this requires a dialogue between different interests, she said.

Maren Ismark, general secretary of the Nature Conservancy, does not like Norway’s desire to further develop wind energy. It is particularly concerned about the interference that wind energy is already making in mountains, coasts and grazing areas.

We believe that it is not the time to make plans for wind energy development. Instead, Norwea should look for energy-saving capabilities where possible. In this country, we waste a lot of electricity, which becomes more evident when prices go up, she says.

If it is decided to develop more wind farms, Esmark is concerned that this should be done in as gentle a way as possible towards nature.

– It is plausible that today, after many ecosystems have been damaged and species have disappeared, one is looking at what is sustainable. Therefore, we believe that wind power plants should be built only in areas that have already been industrialized or destroyed in some way.

It believes that decisions about where to develop more power should be largely governed by where it pays off in terms of production for development, rather than by municipalities more willing to develop.

A new wind energy licensing system is on the way. According to Sloughe Haga, this would take a number of considerations other than what was done before.

– There is now a dead end in the licensing process, but when you start again, you will have to ensure greater local participation in the planning, and there must be more financial resources in the municipalities. She says the short- and long-term opportunities that wind energy can create for municipalities must be more clearly articulated.

The pace has to pick up

Both the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature and Norwea believe that the development of renewable energy is too slow.

Haga in Norway wants the government to set the pace as quickly as possible.

Increased electricity production is needed when we want to modernize Norway and move away from fossil energy. If no action is taken, we may not have offshore wind licenses until 2030-31, which won’t give us power until 2034, Hagga says.

As of now, Parliament and the government do not have a plan on how to achieve the 2030 climate goals. It will take political leadership to manage this. She added that it requires developing wind energy in addition to developing energy with other technologies, as well as investing in energy savings.

Nor does Esmark at The Nature Conservancy believe that energy policy is on the right track.

– There is a lot of talk about the gas, electricity and oil business. The focus should be on how to simplify the renewables we have today, she says.