Press release
Smøla Windmill Park officially opened
Smøla Windmill Park is a step in the right direction if we are to achieve the authorities' ambition of installing 3 TWh wind power by the year 2010. "Statkraft has the competence and the will to pursue the projects we have been granted licences for, but it is up to the authorities to decide if we are to continue concentrating on wind power," says Mikkelsen.
2nd building stage
The plan is to build Smøla Windmill Park in two stages. The 2nd stage will involve a further 55 windmills with a total installed capacity of about 150 MW, corresponding to about 450 GWh per year. This is sufficient to cover the electricity needs of some 20,000 households. But at today's market prices development of wind power is hardly profitable unless the authorities get involved by providing predictable subsidies.
A considerable investment
"Statkraft has invested a great deal of time, effort and money in establishing wind power in Norway and it has been granted licences to develop 200 MW at Smøla and Hitra. This corresponds to power production in the 600 GWh range. In addition to these projects the company is working on plans for about 2.5 TWh. At present it is not clear whether the 2nd building stage at Smøla can be realised. After Enova signalled less support to wind power projects in the spring, financing is uncertain. Other projects are also uncertain because of objections raised by the defence forces", says Mikkelsen.
Broad support
The first ground was broken at Smøla 11 months ago following the final granting of a licence. It has taken 5 years to realise this project. Smøla Municipal Authorities and the Møre og Romsdal County Council have given their support through unanimous resolutions. The conservation groups Bellona Foundation and Nature and Youth have also given their support. The municipality, landowners and the people of Smøla have activity taken part, providing advice and assistance during the planning. 80 per cent of Smøla's residents support the development.
"Wind power is a clean and renewable form of energy resulting in no emissions of greenhouse gases or other pollutants. In light of national and international targets that a greater part of the energy produced should come from clean, sustainable energy sources, Norway has an opportunity to make an important contribution by concentrating inter alia on wind power in the years to come", says Bård Mikkelsen.
Statkraft is Norway's largest producer of electric power. The company's own annual production capacity is a good 42 TWh, or about 1/3 of the country's total hydropower production. Statkraft has a staff of about 2,500, including the subsidiaries Skagerak Energi, Trondheim Energiverk and Statkraft Grøner. The company is Norway's largest land-based taxpayer. Statkraft has ownership interests in the following Norwegian energy companies: HEAS, BKK, E-CO Vannkraft and Fjordkraft, and it has agreed to purchase part of Agder Energi.