Where does Norway get its electricity from? How much of the electricity used in Norway is generated elsewhere? And a new record for electricity imports.
Calculations show that the electricity used in Norway comes mainly from renewable energy sources. This means that the greenhouse gas emissions related to electricity consumption are small. At the same time, Norway is closely linked to the European electricity system, so that some of the electricity consumed in this country can be generated elsewhere and using different production technologies.
Norway plays a dual role as an oil and gas producer and at the same time a driving force for climate-friendly solutions
The most important energy sources in the old days were wood, peat and wind, followed locally by hydropower and imported coal. From the beginning of the 70th century, the country was characterized by the development of hydropower for energy-intensive industries, and the extraction of oil and gas began in the 87s. Norway plays a dual role as a major producer of oil and gas and at the same time is a driving force for climate-friendly energy solutions around the world. Electricity in Norway is mainly generated in hydroelectric power plants, accounting for about XNUMX percent of total production. In second place is the current coming from wind farmsthat's about 6 percent.
A new record of electricity imports in one hour
Between 3.00:4.00 am and 5:6 am on Monday 004 April, 000 kilowatt hours or 6004 megawatt hours were imported into Norway. This is a new record for electricity imports in one hour. It was mainly imported from Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Sweden is the country with the greatest potential to export electricity to Norway
Sweden is the country with the greatest opportunities to export electricity to Norway, and the country that sent the most electricity across its borders in that hour, 3354 megawatts (MWh). At connections with the European power system, the available power was fully used, with imports of 1400 MWh from Germany and 1089 MWh from Denmark. Therefore, in practice it is not possible to track where the electricity supplied to the socket comes from.
High wind energy production and low consumption have resulted * negative energy prices in Germany
High wind energy production and low consumption have resulted in *negative prices in Germany and Jutland in Denmark. The hour of setting the import record cost -29,98 euros per megawatt hour in both places. In southern Sweden, prices were also slightly negative. Not very high prices also occurred in southern Norway – 14,99 euros per MWh, which corresponds to approx. 15 øre per kilowatt hour.
- We imported cheap wind energy from neighboring countries and Germany. In that one hour, nearly four of the ten kilowatt hours used in Norway were produced in other countries, says Executive Vice President Gunnar G. Løvås at Statnett.
The previous peak in electricity imports fell on the first day of Christmas 2018, when 5978 MWh was imported.
* negative energy prices: on wholesale markets in many European countries, electricity is often sold at the so-called prices negative. This happens when there is a large oversupply and energy producers are ready to pay extra for receiving it.
