Session: 01-04-01 Renewable Energy

Paper Number: 130298

130298 - The Impact of Hydropower Development on Economic, Ecological, and Social Structures in Rural Norway During the Great Expansion Era 1945-1990 

Economies worldwide are under pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to the impacts of climate change and the resulting need to limit anthropogenic influence on the climate. The energy sector, which is responsible for about three quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, is given particular attention in this context. A major priority is the conversion of the electricity sector in many countries around the world from fossil and nuclear to renewable energy sources. While the integration of renewable energy technologies is causing significant problems with local residents and environmental interest groups in many countries [1], there are some nations that already derive the majority of their electricity needs from renewables.

Norway is one of the few countries in the world that generates more than 90 % of its domestic electricity consumption from hydropower [2]. With currently around 33,730 MW of installed capacity [3], Norway is the largest producer of electricity from hydropower in Europe and the seventh largest in the world [4]. The period 1945-1990 saw the construction of about 72 % of the current installed capacity, about 24,200 MW [5], which is why this period can be considered the great expansion era for hydropower in Norway.

While the construction of hydroelectric power plants until the end of the World War II was concentrated in the political and economic center of the country, Eastern Norway with the capital Oslo, the agricultural and previously economically less developed regions of Northern and Western Norway came into the focus of hydropower plant construction from 1945 onwards. Due to its geological and climatic advantages, Western Norway in particular benefited from a strong increase in capacity in the decades after the war. Northern Norway, which is sparsely populated and geologically less predestined, also experienced an exclusive development of its hydropower resources from 1945 onwards. [5]

The FEDSM 2024 conference contribution "The Impact of Hydropower Development on Economic, Ecological, and Social Structures in Rural Norway During the Great Expansion Era 1945-1990" addresses the following central question: What direct influence did the development of hydropower resources have on the development of economic, social and ecological structures in the regions of Western and Northern Norway during the period 1945-1990?

In order to answer this question, an analysis of hydropower-related articles in the daily newspapers with the highest circulation in each region, Bergens Tidende and Nordlys, will be presented. As the most widespread mass medium of the time, newspapers offer an exclusive insight into contemporary regional discourses. The articles under consideration contain key positions of various interest groups such as hydropower producers, politicians, local residents, environmental protection associations and industry representatives and are therefore well-suited sources to trace the direct impacts of hydropower development. The results of the two newspaper analyses are processed and compared in terms of content and statistics. They can be utilized to understand, evaluate and tackle today's challenges in the integration of renewable energy technologies worldwide.

[1] Fraunhofer-Institut für Energiewirtschaft und Energiesystemtechnik (Fraunhofer IEE), “Das »Barometer der Energiewende«. Windenergie,” Fraunhofer-Institut für Energiewirtschaft und Energiesystemtechnik (Fraunhofer IEE), 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.barometer-energiewende.de/de/barometer_2020/windenergie.html. [Accessed 4 July 2023].

[2] Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB), “Electricity,” Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB), 15 August 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.ssb.no/en/energi-og-industri/energi/statistikk/elektrisitet. [Accessed 23 August 2023].

[3] Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE), “Vannkraft,” Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE), 15 June 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nve.no/energi/energisystem/vannkraft/. [Accessed 28 June 2023].

 [4] L. Fernández, “Largest hydroelectric power generating countries worldwide in 2021,” Statista, 8 February 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/474799/global-hydropower-generation-by-major-country/. [Accessed 28 June 2023].

[5] Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE), “Vannkraftdatabase,” 31 March 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nve.no/energi/energisystem/vannkraft/vannkraftdatabase/. [Accessed 05 May 2023].

Presenting Author: Markus Fischer Technische Universität Berlin