Business leaders from Norway’s energy sector have urged the European Union to spell out its climate and energy goals.
They say clearer policy objectives could provide a basis for the Scandinavian country to act as a stabiliser for the EU energy market.
According to Tore Ulstein, president of the Confederation of Norwegian Entreprises (NHO).European energy policies have a profound impact on Norwegian businesses even though the country does not belong to the EU,
EU news website EurActiv reports at an NHO conference in Brussels, Mr Ulstein spoke of the Norwegian economy’s dependence on the energy sector, which represents 30 per cent of the country’s GDP.
As much as 85 per cent of Norway’s exports to the EU is energy or energy-related products, he said.
Norwegian enterprises have voiced scepticism of the EU’s climate ambitions, which were scaled down in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Furthermore, the large scale exploitation of shale gas in the United States has brought down the price of coal, encouraging its use over less-polluting gas, Mr Ulstein said.
“This use of cheap coal is influencing Norwegian’s gas sales, and Europe’s climate ambitions.”
Mr Ulstein added that Norway could act as an energy “stabiliser” or “buffer” for Europe if it was better integrated into the EU energy market.
EurActiv reports he called for the EU and Norway to “build a bridge”, pointing to the discrepancy between speed of development of high-voltage transmission infrastructure and the building of solar farms or wind turbines.
Germany’s transmission capacity had also not kept up with the development of renewable energy, he said, adding that imbalance was difficult to avoid.
“From 2018 added power production capacity could go to waste,” the Norwegian warned.
Also when there was no wind in the north of the EU, Norway’s hydro-storage capacity could provide a potential solution, he said.
Some 98 per cent of Norway’s electrical production comes from hydropower, and the country has predicted a big surplus of electricity, which could be redirected to the rest of the continent.
“If you turn out the hydropower turbines in Norway when there is surplus of energy in the northern part of the EU, Norway could rely on EU wind.
“And it could turn on its hydro-turbines when the wind drops,” he said.
“Completing the EU internal energy market is a major goal and Norway can be a steady partner in this process,” Mr Ulstein said.
EurActiv reports that Kjetil Hove, vice-president for operations at Statoil, the Norwegian oil and gas giant, said that the European Union could count on gas supply from Norway for many years to come.
“The challenge is the lack of sense of urgency,” Mr Hove said, calling on the EU to make a decision on its energy mix for 2030.
Industry officials say that huge investments are required to tap remaining large oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea.
Mr Hove said that decisions on the EU’s 2030 energy mix should be made “today”.
The European Commission said that it was up to each company to take their own commercial decisions based on risk analysis.
Pressed by EurActiv to elaborate, the director general of the EC’s energy directorate, Philip Lowe, explained that it was not the role of the EU to say how many trillions of cubic metres of oil and gas would be needed in 2030, and that the market approach would continue to prevail.
Mr Hove called for the EC to make clear to the Norwegian gas sector how far it would push its climate policy and whether it would continue to subsidise the renewable energy sector.
