The Norwegian government has made room in its 2025 budget for a multimillion-dollar investment destined to be injected into its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, described as a full-scale CO2 capture, transport, and storage development in line with the country's international climate agreements.
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How is Northern Lights' CO2 transport and storage infrastructure progressing?
Construction of Northern Lights' CO 2 transport and storage infrastructure and Heidelberg Materials' capture facility in Brevik is progressing. As of now, the Brevik CCS is 76 percent complete, while Northern Lights' storage facility is 94 percent complete.
In April 2020, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy granted Norsk Hydro a concession to develop the Illvatn pumped storage power plant. An application for a plan change is being processed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).
The project is said to reflect the Norwegian government's ambition to develop a full-scale CCS value chain in Norway, demonstrating the potential of this decarbonization approach. Longship, with captured CO2 from Brevik and Northern Lights' transport and storage, will be operational in 2025.
What projects are under development in Norway?
Another project under development in Norway is a new power plant at Torolmen, in the Årdal municipality, with an estimated annual production of around 30 GWh. The total investment for this project could reach NOK290 million (US$27.4 million), with potential construction starting as early as 2027.
This FID follows the signing of a 15-year commercial agreement between Northern Lights and Stockholm Exergi, the Swedish capital's energy supplier, for the cross-border transport and storage of 900,000 tonnes of biogenic CO 2 per year from 2028.
Will Norway be able to manage CO2 in 2025?
Terje Aasland, Norway's Minister of Energy, commented: “With Longship, Europe's first full-scale value chain for CO2 management will be in operation in 2025. It is inspiring to now see the results from Norway's long-term commitment to CO2 management.