Proposes measures to ensure more solar energy – E24

NVE proposes a new cap on unlicensed solar energy. This step will contribute to achieving the government's ambitious goals for 2030.

The government and SV agreed last year that Norway would build eight terawatt-hours of power by 2030.

Now, the Norwegian Directorate for Water Resources and Energy (NVE) has conducted an assessment of what is needed to reach the target, commissioned by the Ministry of Energy.

NVE believes that new and clearer boundaries are needed for what is required of you to apply for a license for a solar power plant. Today, this depends on whether the plant will lead to the need for new high-voltage substations to deliver power to the grid.

NVE advises limiting licensing obligations for solar power plants to 5 MW.

– With this limit, NVE will continue to handle the largest facilities, while the smaller ones will be handled by the municipality, says Acting Director of Water Resources and Energy Inga Nordberg in an interview. message.

NVE believes the new limit should be linked to an extended connectivity commitment. It means that the local grid company is obligated to build a power line up to the solar power plant.

– Very positive

Managing Director Trine Kopstad Berentsen at Solar Group is satisfied with the move.

-We think it's a very positive thing. This reduces bureaucracy and makes it easier to develop larger solar power plants. It's a simplification. The less work, the more profitable the project, Berentsen tells E24.

– How difficult is it to reach the 2030 goal?

– When there is a spring solar business plan, the important question will be how to achieve this goal. NVE says some incentives are needed, and then we think you can start by increasing subsidies for residential solar again, and including batteries in the same round, says Berentsen.

– The situation is quite calm in the solar market now, and it is important to look at incentives if we want to succeed in reaching the 2030 target. She says that if there is more development in gray areas, for example along roads and railways, there is a need Also some support.

– Powerful financial tools

According to NVE, Norway has only 600 MW of solar capacity. This saves about 0.45 TWh of electricity per year. In order to reach the government's target of 8 TWh, current capacity must be doubled within just six years.

According to NVE, solar power plants must then be built with an installed output of about 10,000 MW. Today the installed hydropower capacity is 33,000 MW.

Hydroelectric power plants provide electricity for longer hours per year than solar energy. In total, hydropower provides 137 TWh per year.

– A lot of solar energy needs to be developed within a few years, Nordberg says.

– Since lack of profitability represents the biggest obstacle today, strong financial tools will be needed.

The goal of 8 TWh of solar energy by 2030 should be achieved largely through installations on the roofs and facades of residential and commercial buildings, according to NVE.

Scarcity of available grid capacity and regional conflicts limit the amount of ground-mounted solar power that can be achieved in these six years, Nordberg says.

In the past five years, Sweden has quintupled its solar capacity to 2,500 MW, partly due to increased subsidy schemes for individuals, according to NVE. Denmark also achieved strong growth in installed capacity.

If Norway is to reach 8 TWh of solar power by 2030, more solar power will need to be developed than Sweden and Denmark have done in recent years. NVE indicates.

It can lead to new conflicts

NVE believes that the Directorate's resources are best suited to handle cases in excess of 5 MW.

“The NVE will then be able to use resources on more complex and conflict-ridden matters. We also recognize that the guidelines in
The ministry's mission and Parliament's decision to “remove regulatory barriers to energy production” indicate a 5-megawatt limit, NVE wrote in its report. NB.

But the directorate points out that the new limit may lead to other challenges.

“With a 5 MW limit, there may be a number of conflict-ridden issues locally, particularly in relation to land use. These matters must then be dealt with through municipal bodies and processes,” NVE writes.

“There is also the risk that there may be challenges to the power grid locally, which local grid companies will have to deal with,” NVE wrote.

It should be easier to share

This week, the NVE Energy Regulator (RME) also came up with a proposal to enable more people to share self-produced electricity between neighboring properties.

– The new scheme will be much more comprehensive than the current sharing scheme and means that more people can save on taxes and fees by sharing self-produced renewable electricity, RME director Tore Langsett said at a press conference. message Monday.

Sharing electricity with other customers within the same property was permitted From October 1, 2023. This facilitated electricity sharing in housing societies. Commercial areas will also now be able to share electricity more easily with their neighbors.