On 12 February, the King in Council decided to grant a licence for the development of Sauland Power Plant in Hjartdal municipality. The licence will allow for an increased use of water compared to that decided by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) in its recommendation.

'We are pleased to have a final decision in a case we started working on 10 years ago,” says chair of the board Finn Werner Bekken of Sauland kraftverk AS.

Bekken is also pleased that the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has allowed for an increased use of water than that recommended by the NVE, but at the same time, he is open in admitting that it is less water than he was hoping for.

'Sauland Power Plant is a project teetering right on the edge regarding profitability. With the power prices and framework conditions we see today, it will be a challenge to make the power plant a reality.'

However, Bekken does not eliminate the possibility of bringing the power plant to fruition.

'We need some time to familiarise ourselves with the terms and conditions of the licence. In the first instance, this means calculating power production and construction costs for the solution for which we are now licensed.’

Links:
Read the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s press release about the Sauland licence here