Aurland-Sogndal project

Statnett is the transmission system operator (TSO) in Norway. Statnett is upgrading the 300 kV transmission power line between Aurland and Sogndal to 420 kV. This will mainly happen by building a new power line parallel to the existing one, which will be removed after the new line is in use. At the same time, the part of the 300 kV transmission power line between Hove and Sogndal that lies between Sogndal and Ramnaberget in Vik municipality is to be replaced with a new one. The new grid connections will be completed in 2025 at the earliest, and the old ones will be removed in the following two years. The Sogndal substation will be renewed.

The project has received the necessary concession from the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (NVE) for the construction of new power lines and the demolition of existing ones. Statnett’s impact assessment and the MTA (Environment, Transport and Construction) plan for the project was finalised within the scope of the concession and accepted by the NVE in March 2022.

According to the project MTA plan the primary negative environmental impacts include construction activities such as forest clearing, mass excavation, and storage and transport in the conservation area and natural reserve. These activities will potentially damage the terrain in the areas to some extent.

In Statnett’s original application for expropriation, the list of affected landowners was incomplete. Statnett sent an additional application in February 2023 for prior authorisation of the acquisition of necessary rights on the properties in question. The application was in the consultation stage until 15.05.2023. The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) will carry out a further environmental review of the project and counterparty during NIB’s public consultation period.

NIB welcomes comments on the project in question.

NIB contact information:
info@nib.int
Please write “A project” in the subject field.

Nordic Investment Bank
Sustainability and Mandate Unit
P.O. Box 249
FI-00171 Helsinki
Finland

This document was prepared and disclosed at an early stage of NIB’s review of the project, before consideration by NIB’s Board of Directors. The details of the project may change following disclosure.

The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and EIA summaries are produced by the project sponsors, and NIB makes them available without any comment or implied endorsement. Any views expressed or statements made in the EIA or the EIA Summary do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of NIB.

All contact information can be found in the project website: