Press release
"Statkraft has made a major commitment to environmentally friendly energy and put a considerable effort into increasing the use of windpower in Norway. With the completion of Smøla's construction phase 2, we're well on our way to achieving the company's windpower goal here in Norway," says Bård Mikkelsen, Statkraft's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Statkraft's goal is to install 2 TWh of windpower within profitable frameworks by 2010. Smøla wind farm construction phase 1, which consisted of 20 windmills, was opened by HM King Harald of Norway in September 2002. Statkraft started to build the Hitra wind farm in the county of South Trøndelag this summer and has also been granted a licence to build Kjøllefjord wind farm in Finnmark county's Lebesby municipality. Apart from this, Statkraft is working on plans for a further eight projects, from Finnmark in the north to Rogaland in the south.
Smøla wind farm's second construction phase has a cost limit of almost NOK 1 billion. Statkraft has signed an agreement with Dutch company Nuon regarding the sale of the green certificates linked to the electricity produced by the wind farm and ENOVA is to invest NOK 66 million.
The windmills are to be located in four rows connected to the wind farm's first construction phase. They will be 70 metres high and have a rotor diameter of around 80 metres. Construction work will start immediately and the windmills are intended to come into operation in the autumn of 2005.
Environmental consequences
Norway's largest group of nesting sea eagles is to be found at Smøla. When fully developed, the wind farm will affect the nesting area of around 15 pairs of sea eagles, and may lead to a reduction in the sea-eagle population at Smøla. The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) has conducted surveys following the first year of operation of construction phase 1. It has not registered any reaction pattern on the part of the sea eagles that was not expected or described in the professional reports prepared prior to the development. The Institute's report has been dealt with by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), which has not found it necessary to implement any preventative measures in connection with construction phase 2.
Local support
Smøla municipality and the county council of Møre og Romsdal have stated their support for the development in unanimous resolutions. The support of Smøla's inhabitants for the wind-power facility has not changed since the completion of the first construction phase - 80 per cent are positive to the wind farm. The development of the second construction phase is expected to provide a regional employment effect of around 150 man-labour years during the construction period.
Statkraft is Norway's largest producer of electricity. The company's own production capacity comprises an average of just over 42 TWh annually - or around 1/3 of the hydropower generated in Norway. The Statkraft Group has approximately 2,100 employees, including those in Skagerak Energi and Trondheim Energiverk. Statkraft is Norway's biggest land-based taxpayer. Statkraft has ownership shares in BKK, Agder Energi and Fjordkraft, all Norwegian power companies. In size, the Statkraft Alliance is the third largest in the Nordic production market and the second largest in the Norwegian consumer market.