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Local Norway
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
EXPLAINED: Norway opens up protected rivers to power plants
What change did the Norwegian parliament vote through? The parliament voted through a proposal to allow consent to be granted to small hydro projects on protected rivers, without the applications needing to be decided by parliament, as they would be today. "Consent processing will be opened for power plants with over 1 MW capacity in protected watercourses where the social benefit, for example in the form of flood mitigation effects, is considered significant at the same time as the environmental consequences are considered acceptable," reads the controversial clause. The proposal was part of a larger package of measures designed to improve flood protection, which was backed by a broad majority, with a total of 78 MPs in favour and 21 against. The Labour Party, Conservative Party, Centre Party and Progress Party all voted in favour of the proposal, while the Green Party, Socialist Left Party, Liberal Party and Christian Democrats all voted against. What are protected watercourses? Norway in 1973 brought in a new plan permanently protecting 95 rivers and lakes and temporarily protecting 45 more, with further plans in 1980, 1983, 1993, 2005, and 2009, giving new watercourses protected status. There are currently 390 rivers and lakes with protected status, covering roughly 25 percent of Norway's catchment areas. What are opponents saying? Conservationist groups have been up in arms about the decision, mounting protests outside the parliament ahead of the vote. Truls Gulowsen, leader of the Norwegian Association for Nature Conservation, called the vote "terribly disappointing". "We will fight for every single protected waterway, for every river, every waterfall and every lake. We will not give up what we have won through more than a hundred years of watercourse struggle because of an ill-considered and irresponsible hasty decision." Une Bastholm, an MP for the Green Party, called it an "historic attack on Norwegian nature", and called on the parties that voted for it to stand by their promise not to let it mean "massive development in protected waterways". Lars Haltbrekken, an MP for the Socialist Left Party, called it "a sad day for nature." "These rivers should have been protected forever, and now a majority in the parliament is instead ready to destroy them forever," he said. Groups representing users of Norway's rivers were also critical with Pål Mugaas, spokesperson for Norske Lakseelver (Norwegian Salmon Rivers), telling The Guardian newspaper it was "a sad day for the wild salmon", and Live Steihaug Aasheim, general manager of Sjoa Rafting, telling NRK it could mean the end of "the entire rafting industry" on the Sjoa river. What are supporters saying? The government and the other parties backing the change have downplayed its significance, with Ingvild Kjerkol, the Labour Party MP who leads the Energy and Environment Committee, claiming that the vote will not mean rivers losing their protected status. "Just so there is absolutely no doubt: The protection has not been lifted. It remains. The Water Resources Act is not changing. Protected watercourses remain protected," she told NRK. "There won't be many projects. But a few projects can prevent floods from causing major damage to nature. And that can prevent days with extreme prices." The parties in favour argue that it is necessary to dam rivers in order to control flooding during periods of extreme rainfall, a consideration that has become more pressing after the severe floods in August 2023 destroyed bridges, roads and property. How many more hydropower projects are possible? While the change has been largely justified on the grounds of flood protection, Fornybar Norge, the Norwegian renewable energy lobby group, said in a statement last week that it supported the proposal to loosen river protections. 'This will, among other things, be relevant for projects that have a significant flood-reducing effect. At the same time, it is good that the decision is not a free pass for the construction of new facilities in protected watercourses.' The lobby group has long been calling for more hydropower to be built, claiming a need for new plants designed to ramp production up and down as rapidly as possible to make up for periods of low wind, when wind power production in the country can drop sharply. Will the change mean more power plants? Not automatically. Power plant developers will still need to submit proposals to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, and secure all the necessary environmental permits, so it's likely to be years, perhaps as long as a decade before the change results in any new plants being built.
The Guardian
13-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Norway to open protected rivers to hydropower plants
The Norwegian parliament has voted to open up protected rivers to hydropower plants, prompting fury from conservation groups who fear for the fate of fish and other wildlife. The bill allows power plants bigger than 1MW to be built in protected waterways if the societal benefit is 'significant' and the environmental consequences 'acceptable'. It was voted through on Thursday as part of measures to improve flood and landslide protection. Une Bastholm, a Green member of parliament, described the proposal as 'a historic attack on Norwegian nature' when it was unveiled last week. Environment campaigners say they believe the proposal will lead to an 'endless stream' of new battles over river development. They criticised the government, who they said rushed it through without proper public consultation or environmental impact assessments. Truls Gulowsen, head of the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature, said: 'We will fight for every single protected watercourse, for every river, every waterfall and every lake. We will not give up what we have won through more than a hundred years of watercourse struggle because of an ill-considered and irresponsible hasty decision.' Norway, a Nordic country known for its dramatic fjords and pristine nature, has protected nearly 400 waterways with plans that keep them from being dammed by large power plants. Its rivers and the species in them have separately come under threat from intensive farming and climate breakdown. Campaigners protested outside the Norwegian parliament on Tuesday and presented a petition opposing hydropower development in protected waterways that they said gathered 25,000 signatures. Supporters of the proposal claim critics have 'hyped up' the dangers to nature. The criteria for approval remains unchanged and companies seeking to build hydropower dams would still face strict assessments before being granted a permit. The proposal was voted through on Thursday by the Conservative party, the Progress party, the Labour party and the Centre party. The Christian Democrats withdrew their support, citing uncertainty over the wording. Pål Mugaas, a spokesperson for Norske Lakseelver (Norwegian Salmon Rivers), said: 'It's a sad day for the wild salmon and all the other species in what was supposed to be permanently protected rivers.' Disputes over renewable energy have rocked Norwegian politics in recent months. The government collapsed at the end of January in a row over adopting the EU's latest clean energy package. The Norwegian electricity grid is among the cleanest on the planet – a result of its hydropower dams – and the country is a net power exporter that has long enjoyed cheap bills. Merethe Dotterud Leiren, a political scientist at the Cicero Centre for International Climate Research, said: 'This situation makes it politically harder to defend investments in renewables.' Norway's clean energy conflicts have so far centred on wind turbines. The refusal to dismantle a wind farm that was found to have violated the rights of indigenous Sámi reindeer herders in 2021 has attracted the support of climate campaigners around the world, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Leiren said: 'In general, Norwegians are more positive to hydropower than windpower. However, there are basically no places left to build large hydroelectric power plants without building in protected nature.' Fornybar Norge, the Norwegian renewable energy lobby group, said in a statement last week that it supported the proposal to loosen river protections. It said: 'This will, among other things, be relevant for projects that have a significant flood-reducing effect. At the same time, it is good that the decision is not a free pass for the construction of new facilities in protected watercourses.' The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has previously said there is little power to be gained from exploiting rivers without significant interventions into nature. Kjetil Lund, the NVE director, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Tuesday: 'There is barely any great potential for development in protected waterways, unless you want to exploit the most beautiful, most valuable nature we have.'
