Northern Norway needs more power
The electricity grid in the northernmost Norwegian county of Finnmark will have to undergo major upgrades if a power crisis is to be avoided, the regional industry maintains.
With several major industrial projects in the pipeline, the already strained power situation in the Finnmark county will be pushed to the limit, industrial representatives say. Among the upcoming projects in the region is the iron mine development outside Kirkenes and the offshore “Goliat” oil field. Mr. Tore Martinsen from the Varanger Kraft company says the situation in certain situations could lead to a blackout in the region. -One has to extend the central electricity grid and give it sufficient capacity, and at the same time develop new production in the north both for supply security and for future industry development in the region, he says to NRK. While the industry calls for more power capacity, the grid developers are more reluctant, however. Head of communications in the state-owned Statsnett company, Mr. Tor Inge Akselsen says regional energy consumption growth do not yet justify the construction of a new power line towards Varangerbotn, east in the county. Statsnett will however soon start the construction of a power line from StatoilHydro’s Melkøya LNG plant on the Barents Sea coast towards Balsfjord.
