The renewable energy potential of Norway and strategies for its development

Electricity generated in hydro power stations provide 55 % of the energy used in Norway. The paper focuses on strategies to make electricity from renewable sources available for export. Depending on energy prices, it is concluded that an export of the order of 80 TWh/year of electricity is possible. This can be obtained by energy conservation and by the use of biomass energy for heating purposes, to replace both oil and much of the electricity used as resistance heating. Development of the remaining hydro power system may provide more than 40 TWh/year of electric power. Norway also has large areas suitable for the development of wind power. The hydro power system will easily even out the fluctuations in the available wind energy. Operation of the two sources in parallel is shown to give a synergy effect due to opposite phases in the annual cycles. Wave energy and the dynamics of technology development in general are briefly discussed. The environmental effects of the development in Norway are found to be acceptable, assuming that the exported energy is used to replace electricity generated in coal fired plants. Political challenges to make such a development possible are briefly discussed.