NIB loan to Sogn og Fjordande Energi upgrades hydropower in Norway
NIB and Norwegian Sogn og Fjordande Energi AS (SFE), supplier of renewable energy in Western Norway, have signed a EUR 30 million investment loan for Øksenelvane hydropower station upgrade project. The term of the loan is 15 years.
Øksenelvane Power Plant was one of the first major developments in Sogn og Fjordane more than 70 years ago, and today the new Øksenelvane Power Station is one of the largest currently under construction. As part of the rehabilitation plan, SFE will build a new power station adjacent to the existing facility, allowing continuous electricity generation throughout the construction process.
The new station will provide both 21 GWh of additional electricity production and nearly four times the capacity, meaning the power plant will have excellent regulation capabilities and be well equipped to deliver energy when the market needs it.
“The power market of the future, with an increasing share of non-dispatchable energy, will need large, flexible ‘batteries’ like the water reservoirs at Øksenelvane. One key reason why electricity production at this power plant can be quickly ramped up or down is that it discharges directly into the sea. In power plants where the water flows into a river after production, flexibility is more limited because it affects river ecosystems. With this project, Norway gains more flexible energy—in an area that has already been developed,” says SFE CEO Knut Arild Flatjord.
The upgraded power plant is scheduled for completion in 2028.
André Küüsvek, President and CEO of NIB said: “Partnering with SFE to upgrade the Øksenelvane power station strengthens a key contributor to Norway’s renewable energy supply. This ensures greater power reliability, especially during periods of lower wind and solar output in the Nordic region.”
Sogn og Fjordane Energi AS has a 100-year-long history as a hydropower producer and has established itself as one of the largest producers of renewable energy in Western Norway. The company has an average annual power production of nearly 2.4 TWh, which corresponds to the consumption of around 130,000 homes.
NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s.
For further information, please contact
Patrik Marckert, Director, Head of Project & Structured Finance, +358 10 618 0266, patrik.marckert@nib.int
Arild Moen, Associate Director, Communications, +358 10 618 0496, arild.moen@nib.int
