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Press release: Statkraft inaugurates three wind farms in Chile 

Press release: Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal appointed President and CEO of Statkraft 

At its peak, the farm employed almost 2,000 workers. The inauguration follows on from the acquisition of two operational wind farms in the state of Rio Grande do Norte the previous year.

Press release: Statkraft inaugurates the company’s largest wind farm outside Europe in Brazil 

Press release: Statkraft to acquire major Loch Ness pumped storage hydro project from Intelligent Land Investments Group

With an increasing demand for renewable energy and several opportunities for developing both hydro, wind and solar, Chile is an attractive market for Statkraft and in line with the strategy of building scale in each market.

The Los Lagos hydropower plant will be located on the Pilmaiquen River, downstream of Statkraft’s operational Rucatayo hydropower plant.

In 2019, Statkraft partnered with Google to develop and prepare a huge site in Skien, Norway.

The Zonnepark Lange Runde was officially inaugurated in February 2018 and was the largest solar park in the Netherlands to date, generating power for approximately 4,000 households. In India, Statkraft inaugurated an on-site solar power project powering a manufacturing plant belonging to SRF Limited in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. At the Dörverden hydropower site, Statkraft officially commissioned a solar park on an adjacent and unused plot of land in November.

In a targeted effort to secure new revenue streams, Statkraft secured several long-term Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) with solar developers and industrial customers in Europe. For instance, Statkraft signed PPAs with BayWa r.e. to bring power from the Don Rodrigo solar parks to customers in the Spanish market.

Aiming to advance in solar technology, Statkraft entered into an agreement with Norwegian Ocean Sun AS in 2019 to deliver a floating solar plant on the Banjë reservoir in Albania. The project will demonstrate the viability of the technology based on competence from Norwegian solar PV and maritime industry.

In 2017, Statkraft completed the Andershaw wind farm in Scotland and expanded its UK onshore wind portfolio through the acquisition of the Irish and UK wind development business of Element Power Group in 2018. The transaction provided Statkraft with a strengthened position in the UK and a large onshore wind development pipeline in Ireland, one of the selected new growth markets for onshore wind. The construction of the Kilathmoy wind farm in south-west Ireland began in 2018.
 

In addition, the first of the six wind farms in the Fosen development was completed in 2018 with the official opening of Roan wind farm in 2019, Norway's largest wind farm to date. Storheia and Hitra were operational by 2019, while the three final windfarms Geitfjellet, Harbaksfjellet and Kvenndalsfjellet are next in line in 2020. When the Fosen project is complete, it will be Europe’s largest onshore wind power facility.

Statkraft has expanded its wind power activities outside Europe, by acquiring wind projects in Chile and Brazil.

Tiding River, India

India’s electricity demand is among the fastest growing in the world and one of Statkraft’s core markets for further growth.

In a continuation of the rehabilitation efforts launched in 2014, Statkraft made a major investment decision to upgrade the Øvre Røssåga hydropower plant in Northern Norway to fully utilise its potential.

Statkraft also expanded its onshore wind capacity in Europe, starting construction of the Andershaw onshore wind farm in Scotland which became operational in 2017, and finalising the wind farm construction projects in Sweden with the completion of Björkhöjden wind farm.

In South America, Statkraft actively strengthened its position as a leading international supplier of renewable energy. The Cheves hydropower plant was opened, bringing Statkraft’s total annual renewable power production in Peru up to around 2.5 TWh. Statkraft continued building industrial scale in South America through hydropower acquisitions in Chile and Brazil.

The completion of the new Kargi hydropower plant in Turkey marked an important milestone for Statkraft’s presence in the country. With Cakit and Kargi, Statkraft now provided more than one percent of Turkey’s annual hydropower generation.

Construction of Andershaw wind farm in Scotland.

In 2014, SN Power's activities in South America and South Asia were taken over by Statkraft, and Statkraft sold power plants in Finland and ownership stakes in wind power in the UK. In Norway, an agreement to swap hydropower plants was negotiated, and new hydropower plants and district heating plants came online. At the same time, new wind farms were commissioned in Sweden and the UK. There was also considerable activity to rehabilitate and upgrade older hydropower plants in Norway and Sweden, and Statkraft had a number of hydropower plants under construction internationally.

Efforts to rehabilitate the Tysso 2 power plant in Hordaland began in 2015, along with Lio in Tokke in Vestfold and Telemark County. Mågeli power station and Skjeggedal pumping station in Vestland were also upgraded during this period. Major rehabilitation of Eiriksdal and Makkoren were recently completed. Planning of rehabilitating Nore in Viken also started, and construction of a new power plant, Ringedalen, in Ullensvang Municipality, was approved to proceed.

Statkraft's strategy is to develop and maintain Norwegian hydropower through profitable and environmentally friendly development and rehabilitation projects.

Nedre Røssåga power plant was modernised and upgraded for future production.

The Devoll project was an important part of Statkraft's investments in international hydropower, both securing renewable energy and development in Albania and strengthening Statkraft’s position as Europe's largest producer of renewable energy. The Banjë hydropower plant in Albania came into operation in 2016 and Moglicë will start operation in 2020.

Banjë reservoir, Albania

The two companies had established Statkraft Norfund Power Invest (SN Power) in 2002. The aim of the agreement in 2013 was to create a leading international community of hydropower expertise based on Statkraft, SN Power and the subsidiary Agua Imara, which was established by SN Power and Norfund in 2009. Statkraft integrated operations in Peru, Chile, Brazil, India and Nepal into its portfolio, while SN Power and Agua Imara were merged into an organisation to continue developing hydropower projects in emerging markets in Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia. In 2017, Statkraft sold its shares in SN Power to Norfund, while Norfund sold its shares in Statkraft IH AS (SKIHI) to Statkraft. Statkraft has continued to develop hydropower and wind assets in South America and India and has also expanded into the energy trading business in these markets.

Since the early 2000s, wind power has contributed significantly to the increase in renewable energy production in the world. Statkraft and Statoil teamed up as equal partners to build Sheringham Shoal, one reason for the partnership being to combine Statkraft's energy market expertise with Statoil's offshore expertise.

Construction began in 2010, and the result was spectacular. When completed, Sheringham Shoal was the world's third-largest offshore wind farm, consisting of 88 wind turbines with 80-metre-high turbine towers and 52-metre-long rotor blades. The enormous wind turbines are spread over an area of open sea covering 35 square kilometres and can supply 220 000 British households with pure energy.

Crown Prince Haakon opened the wind farm on 27 September 2012. Statoil and Statkraft also cooperated on the Dudgeon offshore wind farm about 20 kilometres northeast of Sheringham Shoal. Masdar was also a partner in this project. Dudgeon would provide renewable electricity to a further 400 000 UK households. In 2015, Statkraft decided to halt investments in offshore wind and divested all its holdings by the end of 2017.

King Harald opened Knapsack, Statkraft's first gas-fired power plant outside the Nordic region on 18 October 2007.

In the spring of 2005, Statkraft decided to build two gas-fired power plants in Germany: Knapsack with 800 MW of capacity outside Cologne, and Herdecke with 400 MW south of Dortmund. Statkraft would build and own Knapsack alone, while Herdecke was a collaborative project with the German energy company Mark-E. This investment in gas power in Germany was Statkraft’s biggest since the development of Svartisen hydropower plant in Norway in the early 1990s. The idea was that captive power production on the European continent could support trading operations at the offices in Düsseldorf and Antwerp.

Both plants were commissioned around two years later in autumn 2007, and this was celebrated as a milestone. Up until that point, the only production Statkraft had owned in Europe was in the Nordic region. Now the company had established a significant position for itself on the European continent, and the goal was to develop even more. During the years after 2000, as a consequence of the sudden rise of climate policy, many believed that gas power would have a key role as a transitional solution on the way towards a renewable society. Gas power is far cleaner than coal, and the perception was that gas should replace coal until renewable forms of energy could fully replace carbon-based power production.

The German gas power investment marked a shift in Statkraft's growth strategy. One issue was the green company Statkraft investing in fossil fuel power production, although gas power in the European context could be justified in terms of climate policy. Another issue was that ownership and involvement in the German gas power plants signalled a new form of expansion that would become dominant over the next decade. From around 2005, the company began to focus more on organic growth, i.e. developing production capacity alone instead of with others or through purchases. After 2005, all talk of mergers and acquisitions was almost over. The company began investing heavily in the construction of power production throughout Europe. The gas-fired power plants in Germany were one example of this commitment.

Gas-fired power plants

• Have the lowest CO2 emissions of all power plants based on fossil fuels
• Can replace far more pollutive electricity production based on oil and coal
• Generate electricity using gas turbines and steam turbines
• Statkraft owns gas power plants in Germany and has ownership interests in plants in Germany and Norway

The corporate group Statkraft AS was established with the strategic goal of becoming a European leader in environmentally friendly energy. Late in 2004, group management in Statkraft decided to establish a business area called "New Energy." The business area was to identify and assess environmentally friendly forms of energy and projects in Europe in which Statkraft could get involved.

The establishment was part of a larger reorganisation aimed in part at assembling the professional communities of people who worked with new technologies and business development. However, it also reflected an ambition to intensify and focus efforts on organic growth. New Energy initiated an extensive survey of investment opportunities in Europe, and the results of the project were ready early in the summer of 2005.

In keeping with Statkraft's environmental profile, the working group had limited themselves to considering three energy sources: wind, water and gas. Wind and water were clean, renewable and unproblematic. Gas could be said to lie in a grey area, but was far cleaner than coal, for example.

In 2002, King Harald cut the ribbon and officially opened the first construction phase of Norway's largest wind farm on Smøla Island, 30 kilometres north of Kristiansund in Møre and Romsdal County. It was a milestone celebrated with great fanfare. Twenty wind turbines up to 70 metres high with wingspans of up to 80 metres would supply electricity to about 6 000 households.

"The development and all it brought with it has created a new momentum and optimism for the entire island"

- Former Smøla mayor Iver Nordseth

In 2005 Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland opened the second construction phase of the wind farm. Today the wind farm on Smøla has a total of 68 wind turbines and an annual power production of 450 GWh. This is equivalent to the average consumption of 22 500 Norwegian households. On days with good wind, Smøla wind farm alone can supply the entire county of Møre and Romsdal with electricity. Smøla was the beginning of Statkraft's commitment to new investments in wind power. Later further investments were made in Norway, Sweden and the UK, both onshore and offshore.

Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly forms of large-scale power production, and Norway had vast wind resources that were almost completely untapped. Wind power would create local, national and international jobs, and provide income to the community. The wind farm on Smøla proved this point. It gave Smøla Municipality a real boost; the population increased, along with the number of jobs and the number of beds available for overnight accommodation. This was because Smøla wind farm became a tourist attraction.

In a survey in 2007, 72 per cent of the island's inhabitants responded that they had a positive view of the wind farm and that they were proud of it. In 2004, Hitra wind farm opened in Sør-Trøndelag, and in 2006, they were joined by Kjøllefjord wind farm in Finnmark. In 2015 Statkraft had a total of 109 windmills in Norway.

Smøla wind farm

• Wind farm with 68 turbines on Smøla Island in Møre and Romsdal County
• Largest wind farm in Norway and largest onshore wind farm in Europe
• Covers 18 square kilometres
• Built in two phases, which opened in 2002 and 2005
• Maximum production capacity is 150 MW
• The wind farm generates 450 GWh per year on average, equivalent to the average consumption of 22 500 Norwegian households
• Wind turbines are up to 70 metres high

SN Power was a continuation of efforts that Statkraft began in the 1990s with projects in Laos and Nepal. The establishment of SN Power was a significant revitalisation of the commitment to hydropower outside Europe. The company would specialise in building hydropower projects in developing countries, and Latin America was chosen as an interesting area to focus on.

The region had major potential for hydropower, but only a small portion had been developed. During the early years, SN Power established itself in Chile, Peru, India and the Philippines through new hydropower development projects and acquisition of existing power plants. SN Power would maintain high social, ethical and environmental standards, and not engage in activities that could be controversial. This had several consequences, including for which type of hydropower projects the company could choose.

Generally speaking, the company could not invest in reservoir power plants like the type most common in Norway, because these often involved damming up larger areas, resettlement, and impacts on the water flow in rivers. The primary focus was to be on "run-of-river" power plants, meaning plants that more or less just used only the natural flow of the river.

Not only would SN Power generate income for its owners, but the company would also contribute to sustainable social and economic development in poor countries.

SN Power would also follow the same high standards for health, safety and the environment internationally as Statkraft followed in Norway. "Powering development" was a phrase that was widely used in the early promotion of the company. Not only would SN Power generate income for its owners, but the company would also contribute to sustainable social and economic development in poor countries. With the advent of SN Power, investments outside Europe took a much more central role in the company's strategy. Today, Statkraft develops hydropower and wind power in countries such as Peru, Chile, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Turkey through SN Power.

SN Power

• Created in 2002 by Statkraft and the development fund Norfund
• Established to promote economic growth and sustainable development in new and emerging markets
• Specialised in building hydropower projects in developing countries
• Focused primarily on "run-of-river" power plants but also on wind power
• Has power plants in Peru, Chile, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Turkey

From the construction of SN Power's river plants La Higuera and La Confluencia in Chile.

By the beginning of the new millennium, Statkraft already had a broad portfolio within hydropower, wind power and district heating, but it had big plans for new mergers and acquisitions in northern Europe and other parts of the world.

There was a trend in Europe for big power companies to merge together into even larger entities, and there seemed to be a widespread notion that survival and success were dependent on size. Put simply, there were two choices: eat or be eaten.

This logic also affected the Statkraft organisation, which had no desire to become a marginalised power company on the outskirts of Europe. On the contrary, the company entered the twenty-first century highly focused on international growth and strategic positioning. Contacts were made with a number of European companies, discussions were held about many possible types of cooperation, and some of these led to exploratory discussions about alliances and mergers. Opportunities were also explored for mergers and acquisitions outside Europe. "International Hydropower" had become one of Statkraft's strategic focus areas.

A key trend during this period was the sudden rise of climate policy. Both nationally and internationally, focus was increasingly placed on climate change and global warming. The Kyoto Protocol in 1997 was the first tangible sign of this new development, where many of the world's richest countries committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change was also a strong motivation for Statkraft. Increased use of pure energy from water, wind and sun can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and the shift towards renewable energy offered new business opportunities for Statkraft.

The shift towards renewable energy offered new business opportunities for Statkraft.

Statkraft opened a trading office in Düsseldorf in 1993. This picture shows the company's offices in the city.

The Netherlands' power market was the first in continental Europe to be deregulated, and Statkraft established itself in Amsterdam to access the new markets that opened up. The office initially traded with large-scale customers. The following year, in September 1999, Statkraft opened a similar trading office in Düsseldorf, Germany.
 

Armed with experience from Scandinavia and the Netherlands, Statkraft also identified significant business opportunities when the power market in Germany was rapidly deregulated. Up until then, Statkraft had been associated more with power production than with power trading. However, power trading as a business area grew rapidly and became increasingly important, and Statkraft soon established a presence in international markets where power and power-related products were bought and sold.
 

Statkraft soon bought into BKK and Scanenergi, and the company saw the beginning of a gradual phasing out of industrial contracts, i.e. contracts imposed by the Storting that secured Norwegian industry affordable power. The company's positive earnings trend continued. Flexible production management combined with market analysis led to steadily improving financial results.

Power trading as a business area grew rapidly and became increasingly important for Statkraft.

Power trading

• International markets were developed for buying and selling power and power-related products
• Market prices vary and are influenced by several factors
• Cold periods or heat waves can trigger underproduction or overcapacity of power
• By analysing vast amounts of market data, one can predict how prices will change
• An important part of Statkraft's job is knowing when it pays to buy or sell a product so as to generate the most value for its clients
• Clients range from small-scale producers looking to sell from their own power plants through to large-scale industrial businesses that need a constant power supply and to companies delivering power

Khimti Khola River in the Dolakha district, Nepal

The background for the acquisition was the deregulation of the Swedish power market in the same year. Statkraft realised it would be profitable to invest in Swedish hydropower. Sweden and Norway became a common energy market with extensive trading through Nord Pool, the world's first international power exchange. This changed the character of power trading from long-term, bilateral agreements to exchange trading with spot price, futures contracts and other financial instruments. The same year saw the completion of the power plant on the Khimti Khola River in the Dolakha district around 100 kilometres east of Kathmandu in Nepal, of which Statkraft was the majority owner.

Baltic cable

Connecting different European regions was an important step towards further developing the European power market. The cable was originally owned by the Swedish-based company Baltic Cable, but Statkraft eventually acquired the ownership of the company. As owner of Baltic Cable AB, the company that owned, operated and maintained the cable, Statkraft gained direct access to the European power market.

Kårstø Gasskraftverk

Naturkraft, now owned 50/50 by Statkraft and Statoil, opened Norway's first commercial gas-fired power plant in 2007. In 1994, Statkraft entered into power exchange agreements with Dutch SEP and German Preussen Elektra. Power markets in Europe were becoming progressively integrated.

With no prospect of any new large hydropower projects in Norway, it became more important to streamline operations and the power grid to produce electricity when it provided most value. The power markets were deregulated and liberalised. A new energy law in 1990 provided the framework for how power supply in Norway should be organised. The law paved the way for a free energy market and competitive power trading, while power transmission itself remained monopoly-based. With the new law, Norway became a pioneer in the deregulation of power markets, and Statkraft faced a new era as a commercial power company and international player. The Energy Act also led to a reorganisation of Statkraft.

King Olav V opened Kvilldal power plant, one of the Ulla-Førre plants, on 3 June 1982, with his name engraved in stone at the power plant the same year.

The development of Ulla-Førre took place at a time when views about locating hydropower plants in the mountains were changing, and the developers were well aware of the changing times. However, despite Ulla-Førre being the largest state-owned hydropower development at the time in Norway, there was little protest. Ulla-Førre was planned and implemented without meeting significant resistance from nature conservationists or environmental activists. The power plant involved the joint development of a number of river systems flowing into the Otra River at Kristiansand in the south and into the Suldalslågen River at Sand in the northwest. The facility included two power plants: Hylen and Kvilldal; two pumped-storage plants: Saurdal and Hjorteland; and one combined plant: Stølsdal.

Ulla-Førre was completed in 1988 at a cost of NOK 7.8 billion, and its 20 dams and 125 kilometres of tunnels made it the largest facility of its kind in northern Europe. The project included the longest tunnels and the largest cross-sections – up to 175 square metres – ever built. One of the largest tunnels was big enough to house a four-storey apartment building.
 
 

Ulla-Førre

• One of the largest hydropower facilities of its kind in northern Europe
• The development of the power plant took place in the period 1974-1988
• The plant draws water from a 2 000 km² large catchment area in central Ryfylkheiene
• This includes the artificial Blåsjø Lake, which is dammed by some of the largest dams in Norway
• The group of power plants making up Ulla-Førre include Kvilldal, Saurdal, Hylen and Stølsdal

NVE building

One reason for the separation was the need for greater independence from politics and the ministry in order to operate more effectively. The ability to offer competitive salaries and working conditions was another key motive. The separation was underscored with a separate logo and a new and more modern name, Statkraft. It was important for the new company's management to be seen more as a modern company and less as a traditional government agency.

Sima power plant

Harnessing the high waterfall from the Hardangervidda plateau to Eidfjord proved challenging, but the Sima plant from 1980 still stands as one of the largest hydropower plants in Europe. The plant's machine room, situated 700 metres inside the mountain, is 200 metres long, 20 metres wide and 40 metres high.

Plans for the development quickly became highly controversial, and the issue came to a head in 1979. The people’s movement against development of the Alta Kautokeino river system organised demonstrations in Oslo and Alta, and at the construction site in Alta, a thousand protesters faced off against hundreds of police officers in a confrontation that received wide press coverage. Angle cutters were used against links and chains when the Government decided to fight fire with fire.

A key argument against the development was the Sami people's indigenous rights to land, water and grazing areas for reindeer. Norway's Supreme Court dismissed the claim that this issue had been inadequately addressed, and the Alta power plant was finally built and put into operation in May 1987. The intensity of the environmental protest led to more stringent standards for river system development, and the final design of the power plant was impacted by the new principles that emerged from the debate over its construction. In retrospect, the Alta campaign stands as the prime symbol of resistance to Norwegian hydropower development, even more so than the Mardøla campaign ten years earlier.

The Alta development

• Hydropower plant in Sautso in Alta Municipality in Finnmark County
• Began operations in May 1987
• The development of the Alta-Kautokeino river system was controversial and triggered Norway's largest civil disobedience campaign
• The power plant is built 40 kilometres from the outlet of the Alta River
• In the course of its 170 kilometre-long run, the river takes in water from a
• large part of the Finnmarksvidda plateau
• The power plant makes use of a water drop of 185 metres from the 18 kilometre-long Virdnejávri Lake reservoir

One of the reasons for these protests was the large-scale and intrusive nature of hydropower development projects in the early post-war years. The Norwegian mountains were full of places where power development had left ugly scars in the landscape, and the construction projects had major impacts on many communities.

From the mid-1960s, the protests and demonstrations against hydropower development grew in scope and strength, not least against government plans for new plants. Young people carried out protest actions against new projects, and concern for nature and the environment began to be taken seriously in the form of new laws and government institutions. The most important of these was the Ministry of Environment, established in 1972. Environmental and nature conservation gained a progressively stronger influence on the choice of river systems to be developed and on the planning of individual projects.

Protests and demonstrations against hydropower development, especially the construction of the Alta power plant, seen here, defined the next chapter of Statkrafts history.

There was an acute need for electricity in the 1950s, and a unanimous Storting resolved in 1956 to build the Tokke power plants in Telemark, funded by the state, the municipalities, industry, and loans from the World Bank. Tokke 1 was completed in 1961, and by 1964 most of the large Tokke complex was finished, including a number of power plants built to operate in a coordinated fashion. This was Norway's most extensive hydropower development so far, and its vast size made Tokke a symbol of the engineering feats Norway could achieve.
 

The intake tunnels were up to 75 square metres wide, and a total of 15 dams and 16 reservoirs were constructed. The largest of the reservoirs, Songadammen on the Hardangervidda plateau, had a surface area of no less than 30 square kilometres. It was a major national achievement. Power production from the Tokke plants would be for general domestic consumption. It was large enough to meet the electricity needs of the entire city of Oslo, but it came at a price. The plant cost a total of around NOK 1 billion. The largest portion was provided by the World Bank, which at the time classified Norway more or less as a developing country. Tokke became the acid test for the World Bank's willingness and ability to provide loans for hydropower development in Norway.

When Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen officially started the turbines in 1961, the plant was the largest in Northern Europe. The power plant stood as a technological marvel. From there, six, and later eight, power plants were coordinated and controlled from one room in one operating centre, equipped with Norwegian computer technology. Despite its high price, Tokke quickly became profitable. The entire development increased electricity production in the country by no less than 10 per cent.

"Tokke will be highly significant for Norway’s economy, and as a small country we have reason to be proud of this huge project."

- Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian Prime minister in 1961

Tokke power plants

• Eight hydropower plant in Tokke Municipality, Telemark County
• Built in four stages between 1959 and 1979.
• Located in the upper western branch of the Skiensvassdraget river system.
• Makes use of the water drop of 1 000 metres from Hardangervidda plateau down to Bandak

The lower Røssåga power plant was built to provide electricity for industrial development in Mo i Rana in Nordland, but already during the construction period it became clear that the need was greater than first expected. Consequently, construction of the upper Øvre Røssåga plant was initiated. The plants were put into operation between 1955 and 1958. The first construction in 1954 was linked to operating the ironworks in Mo i Rana, electricity for general use in 19 municipalities in Midt-Helgeland. In the 1960s, the aluminium smelter in Mosjøen also came on stream as a major consumer of power. The Røssåga plants together represented significant technical advances.

New construction equipment revolutionised construction and tunnel operations, and challenged workers and managers in new ways. The plant’s management praised the local construction workers for their ability to acquire knowledge and learn how to use the new equipment quickly and effectively. At its peak, the construction phase employed more than 1 100 people, and when operations began, there were three shifts a day. The construction project featured the country's first female tipper truck operator, but otherwise construction work was reserved for men, while women worked in the temporary site buildings. Architecturally, Nedre Røssåga follows the post-war trend, with features from 1930s functionalism.
 

Røssåga power plants

• The Røssåga power plants are located in Hemnes Municipality in Nordland County
• The power plants were built between 1955 and 1958
• Øvre Røssåga makes use of the water drop between Røssvatnet and Stormyrbassenget
• Nedre Røssåga makes use of the water drop between Stormyrbassenget and Korgen

The state became the owner and developer of Aura power plant in Møre and Romsdal in 1946, but it was not until 1951 that the Storting decided on full-scale development. The need for electrical power for industry and households had practically exploded after the war, and the state was in a hurry to build this plant. It had to be operating by 1954 because the new Sunndal Verk, later Hydro Aluminium, needed large supplies of power to produce aluminium in Sunndalsøra.
 

Aura power plant opened in 1953 after a construction period totalling eight years, and was one of the first major construction projects of the post-war period. Economic conditions in post-war Norway were difficult, and the plant was built with funds from the Marshall Plan launched by the United States in 1947 to support the reconstruction of post-war Europe. Aura was also the first state-built power plant with a machine room built inside a mountain. Architecturally speaking, the plant is representative of many post-war plants, with a simple reception building and more spacious machine rooms inside the mountain.
 

Aura power plant was the first state-built hydropower facility built inside a mountain.

Tre av de største vannkraftanleggene som ble påbegynt i denne perioden, var Aura-utbyggingen i Møre og Romsdal, Røssåga-anleggene i Nordland og Tokke-anleggene i Telemark. Den kraftkrevende industrien ga arbeidsplasser og valutainntekter. Vannkraften, sett som Norges arvesølv, gjorde storsatsingen på industri mulig, og Staten sikret rikelig tilgang på rimelig kraft til metallurgisk og elektrokjemisk produksjon.

Up until this point, the large power stations had been built as monumental cathedrals with magnificent architecture, towering in their natural landscapes of waterfalls and rivers. However, technological advances meant that power plants planned and built in this period acquired totally new dimensions. From the 1950s, major facilities were hidden inside mountains, primarily for reasons of emergency preparedness. Memories from the war were still fresh, but it was also far more practical to place intake tunnels inside mountains than in pipe trenches on the outside. This change represented a crucial development in technology and advanced engineering. Mountain power plants with large machine rooms provided architects with completely new challenges. As in the old plants, the machine rooms in some plants were still monumental, but the exterior design of the reception buildings was often much simpler. Aura power plant is one example of this construction design.

In Norwegian war history, the operation is also referred to as the Glomfjord raid or the Glomfjord operation. The purpose of the operation was to cut the power supply to the Haugvik aluminium plant, which was critical to the German war effort. At the time, the plant was controlled by the German Nordische Aluminiumgesellschaft.

The German occupiers planned to develop the power station in order to expand the aluminium plant and thus increase production. Two Norwegians, Sverre Granlund (1918-1943) and Erling Magnus Djupdræt (1920-1942) from Kompani Linge participated in the sabotage action as local guides. They were the only Norwegians in the unit, which otherwise consisted of one Canadian and nine British commandos. 
 

Under the command of Captain Graeme Black, the soldiers were transported from the Orkney Islands to Norway on board the French submarine Junon to carry out the sabotage mission. Sergeant Djupdræt was seriously injured by a bayonet during combat with German guards. He was transported to Bodø hospital but died two days later from his injuries. Seven of the saboteurs were captured by the Germans and later executed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Four of the saboteurs, including Corporal Granlund, managed to escape and survived Operation Musketoon. Sverre Granlund died in 1943 when the submarine Uredd struck a mine in the Fugløyfjorden fjord in connection with the sabotage raid Operation Seagull. A monument now stands outside Glomfjord power plant in Nordland County in memory of the saboteurs' heroic efforts.
 

Glomfjord power plant

• Located in Meløy Municipality in Nordland County.
• Makes use of a water drop of 464 metres between Nedre Navarvatnet Lake and sea level
• First stage of construction was completed in 1920
• Some sections of the construction were damaged as a result of sabotage in 1942
• The entire project was completed in 1950
• Laid the foundation for the industrial community of Glomfjord
• A new mini power plant inside the old power plant was put into operation in 2014

The electrification of Norway accelerated in the years before World War II in 1940-1945. Constantly improving transmission technology gradually provided a growing number of valleys, settlements and towns with access to electricity for buildings, street lights, railways and businesses. During World War II, a number of new hydropower developments were initiated, some of them to provide power to produce aluminium for the German aerospace industry. However, despite the initially comprehensive German plans for developing hydropower in Norway, little was actually realised in the war years.

Already in 1942, these ambitious plans were either scaled back or abandoned, and work at several of the plants was stopped. Norwegian and Allied sabotage and bombing of hydropower plants and factories, among them Vemork in Telemark and Glomfjord in Nordland, thwarted the armaments plans of the occupying forces. Most of the power plants established in those days are still in operation today.

Nore power plant in Eastern Norway and Glomfjord power plant in Nordland suffered major losses throughout most of the interwar period. Not surprisingly, this contributed to the gradual loss of political legitimacy of the commitment to public power production. Consequently, the state only built two power plants between 1920 and 1940; the wholly state-owned Nore plant in Buskerud and the Solbergfoss plant in Glomma in Østfold County, in cooperation with Kristiania Municipality.

Hakavik power plant was built on the east side of Eikeren Lake in 1922 to supply power to the Drammen railway line. This was the first national electrification of a railway in Norway, and marked an important milestone in Norwegian history. The construction period was very eventful, with strikes, brawls, shortages, assassinations, rationing and inflation. Despite inflationary periods, World War I and other tumultuous events, the first generators began operation in May 1922. The fourth and final generator became operational in March 1936, when the stretch of railway between Drammen and Kongsberg was also electrified.

The power plant itself, which for a long time was Statkraft's smallest, is a brick construction with a simplified and monumental structure in neoclassical style. Like other power plants of the period, it has a large building volume. The machine room, the plant's central space, has tall, arched windows with many panes of glass. The eastern gable still shows the camouflage paint the Germans applied during World War II. The camouflage was used to protect the building during the war, and underlines the importance of the power plant for the infrastructure of Eastern Norway. The fact that the plant was seized by German airborne troops on the first day of the invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 also confirms the importance of the plant.
 
  

Hakavik power plant

• Located at Eikeren in Øvre Eiker in Buskerud
• Built in 1922
• Consists of four generators, but only two are in operation today
• Produces "railway power"
• A new generator is planned in the old power plant