The investment plans are part of the company’s aim to add plants in Norway to its existing portfolio of small hydroelectric stations in Switzerland and Italy. Aare-Tessin for Electricity (Atel) intends to invest in both the acquisition and construction of these hydro plants.
Atel’s small hydro power stations in Norway will have a total capacity of 100MW. According to the company, the 475GWh that will be generated each year is equivalent to the annual consumption of 100,000 households in Switzerland.
At present, the company is planning 12 projects for small hydro power stations. The plants will be implemented over the next three years and together will generate more than 130GWh of electrical energy, which will be marketed by Atel’s Oslo-based subsidiary, Energipartner. The planned project sites are in the west and north of Norway.
Atel is planning to set up a new company, to be called Ecopower Scandinavia, to take over responsibility for constructing and operating these plants.
Atel said that as demand for electricity in Norway is outstripping supply, the country needs additional generation capacity to meet this need. The Norwegian government is promoting the development of renewable energy sources through a number of incentives.
Small hydro power stations are plants with a capacity of up to 10MW for hydraulic electricity generation. Such plants operate along the same principles as large hydro power stations.
