Electricity sector in Norway

[12] There are plans to upgrade the western grid from 300 to 420 kV at a cost of 8 billion NOK,[13][14] partly to accommodate cables[15] to Germany[16] and England.

[17] Norway has an open electric market, integrated with the other Nordic countries over the Synchronous grid of Northern Europe.

Many of the hydroelectric plants in Norway are easily adjustable and can adapt well to variations in demand, and hence in price, but frequency stability is not satisfactory, and Statnett works with producers to minimize sudden changes in power flow.

Maintaining the grid in the harsh Norwegian nature is a compromise between stability desires and economy, and outages are expected in these circumstances.

Copious snow- and rain-fall in the mild winters of 2013-15 led to sharply lower prices, which was 26.7 øre per kWh in 2015.

[24] Calls to power Norway principally through hydropower emerged as early as 1892, coming in the form a letter by the former Prime Minister Gunnar Knutsen to parliament.

[27] According to the IEA, Norway generated 4.3 percent of the worldwide hydropower in 2008 and ranked 6th for that year, behind China, Canada, Brazil, the United States and Russia.

[28] Part of the reason that so much of Norway’s electricity can be generated from hydropower is due to the natural advantage of its topography, with abundant steep valleys and rivers.

Due to climate change, the region is currently experiencing heavier rainfall and is projected to receive more in the future, further increasing its capacity for hydropower.

Orkla Group sold it with $2 billion in January 2011 to a Chinese chemical company China National Bluestar head office in Beijing.

[36] On the island of Svalbard about 0.108 TWh of electricity and heat is produced annually, in two coal fired power plants.

[44] Norway's grid is connected to the Netherlands across the North Sea since 2008 with the 580-kilometre 700 MW High-voltage direct current cable NorNed.

The North Sea Link HVDC Norway to Great Britain cable was opened in October 2021, while the Scotland–Norway interconnector NorthConnect is on hold due to Norwegian policy.