COP21: Norway as Europe’s battery

COP21 is the annual UN conference on climate and climate change. This year’s COP meeting is in Paris from 30th November to 11th December. COP brings together leaders from around the world to achieve a legally binding agreement on the climate, with the aim to keeping global warming below 2°C. SINTEF’s Executive Vice President Sustainability, Nils Røkke will attend COP21 from 7th to 10th December. In three COP21 mini-blogs – we will present three climate technology cases where Norway has a lot to offer: Storing carbon dioxide under the North Sea, Norway as Europe’s battery and wind farms at sea along the Norwegian coast.

What: A large proportion of Europe’s energy mix comes from fossil fuels, which must be replaced, and nuclear energy, which partly will be phased out, in favour of renewable energy. Norway can contribute to this shift by increasing its own renewable capacity and by providing hydropower to balance out the increase in variable production from solar and wind energy from Europe.

Global climate benefits: Increasing Europe’s share of renewable energy with Norwegian hydropower will lower Europe’s CO₂ emissions, without loss of security of supply. 

Is the technology ready? The market must value balancing, while transmission capacity between Scandinavia and Europe must be increased. The market has been tested in the Nordic countries, and the cable technology is available. Hydropower is a renewable energy source that developing countries need, both in terms of capacity and as the backbone of a distributed generation system.

Why increased renewable capacity and power balancing are important for Norway:

• Norway can actively contribute to lowering CO₂ emissions in Europe and worldwide.
• Excess energy from the Norwegian system can be sold to Europe or used to create new Norwegian green industries.
• Norway has experience in the design, development and implementation of power markets, including balancing power.
• Norway has an industrial sector that can provide expertise in power exchange markets and transmission technology.