11 April 2022
Norwegian government announces additional energy policies
On Friday the Støre Government presented an additional report on energy policy, as a supplement to the Solberg Government’s main report. The plan focuses on continuing stable oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf whilst contributing to lower GHG emissions. The energy policy also facilitates developing green industries:
Reaction to the policy shift from the right has been critical with Conservative Party's Energy Policy Spokesperson Nikolai Astrup saying the Government's addition was ‘surprisingly weak and shows that the government is behind in energy policy.’ Industry voices were less critical with NHO boss Ole Erik Almlid saying “There is a good basic tone in the message when it comes to what it takes to succeed. … and that new steps are taken in the right direction for storage solutions for CO2 on the shelf.”
Government, NHO, ABCNews, Government,MSN
Russia’s military action spurs on Finnish commitment to Green Transition
A ministerial working group chaired by Finland’s Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko has decided on measures by which Finland will strive to rid itself of its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The working group has agreed on a EUR 850m package for this year and next, aimed at securing energy availability and energy self-sufficiency. The measures are intended to strengthen security of supply and accelerate the green transition. At the same time, the working group decided to temporarily reduce the obligation to distribute fuel.
Among the measures, a LNG terminal ship has been leased, to receive and store LNG. The ship is scheduled to be available by next winter, enabling Finland to break its dependence on Russian pipeline gas. As a short-term measure to ensure security of supply, the aim is also to increase the availability of wood chips by increasing support for the financing system for sustainable forestry and increasing incentives for the management of young forests and the collection of small trees.
EU Sanctions hit biomass power
New EU sanctions, which were formally approved by the EU on Friday, include a ban on, among other things, imports of Russian coal, chemicals, wood and vodka. More than half of Denmark's renewable energy is produced using biomass, which has increasingly been supplied by wood pellets from overseas. And last year almost a tenth of Denmark's imports came from Russia, surpassed only by Estonia, Latvia, Sweden and the US.
Danish PM: 400,000 households must move away from natural gas
PM Frederiksen has announced all Danish private homes must move away from natural gas to alternative energy sources. Denmark has a list ready if Russian gas is shut down. One of the elements in the proposal is that all the 400,000 private households that have a gas boiler must switch to another energy source. The Government's proposal will be presented after Easter, said Mette Frederiksen from the Folketing's rostrum.
Danish nuclear power company enters into collaboration with South Korean giant
The Danish company Seaborg, which has been developing a small nuclear (so-called SMR) reactor, has started a collaboration with Samsung Heavy Industries - one of the world's largest shipyards. Together, they will develop liquid nuclear power plants with a liquid salt reactor for the extraction of green hydrogen and ammonia.
Epiroc and SSAB collaborate on fossil free steel
The mining and quarrying technology company Epiroc begins a collaboration with SSAB in fossil-free steel, according to a press release. The fossil-free steel will be included in Epiroc's mining equipment. This is initially done with a prototype mining machine for underground operation that is manufactured at the production facility in Örebro.
Norwegian Marinetech startup raises €3M (NOK 30M)
Oslo-based startup SES-X Marine Technologies has raised over €3M (NOK 30M) in an equity round. The company offers the next generation Surface Effect Ship (SES) solution for different types of marine vessels to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions at a high speed compared to conventional hulls using an air cushion principle.
OX2 and Varberg energy sign collaboration agreement
OX2 and Varberg Energi have signed a collaboration agreement for knowledge sharing and development of flexibility services for the electricity grid. The collaboration applies to flexibility based on wind power as well as solar energy and energy storage and is not linked to any specific wind power project. Varberg Energi develops collaborations to drive the development of the wind power industry in a sustainable direction and next year will build the world's largest wind turbine in wooden construction.
Greenbit AS will submit an offer to the minority in Smart Energy
Smart Energy was delisted from NGM (Nordic Growth Market) on 17 July 2020. Newly formed GreenBit AS will now make an offer to minority Smart Energy shareholders. Greenbit has 120 petrol stations in Norway and Sweden. The new group will benefit from economies of scale and has a clear growth ambition in the market for renewable fuels.
Niras to chase green growth
Consulting firm Niras has committed to spending 1 DKK in every 8 DKK earned towards Green technologies over the next decade in a move which could amount to hundreds of millions of Kronor. In order to drive forward the project 400 new staff have been recruited.
What we’re reading
- War won't derail EU clean energy push, analysts say (Axios)
- Global energy spending set to reach record high of over $2 trillion in 2022, led by oil and gas (Rystad Energy)
- Electric vehicle targets ‘impossible’ without changes to lithium pipeline (Financial Times)
- EU countries remain at loggerheads over Russian energy ban (Financial Times)
- Orsted to burn more coal as Ukraine war hits wood pellet supplies (Financial Times)
About Nordic Green News
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.
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