– There are historically high electricity prices and estimates that indicate an imminent energy deficit in Norway. Then the question to electrify the plant shows a total lack of understanding of the situation. So we don’t need electrification at the summit, which will only shift Norwegian emissions to other countries to beautify our climate bills, says FRP energy policy spokesman Terje Halleland. NRK extension
FRP energy policy spokesman, Terje Halleland. Photo: West Nusa Tenggara
Equinor announced on Tuesday that both will ramp up gas production from the Snøhvit field and electrify the Melkøya LNG plant. The project is estimated to cost NOK 13.2 billion. The plans were delivered to the Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland (Ap).
Bellona: Fantastic Christmas present
Bellona leader Frederic Hauge called the plan for power lines in Melkøya on Tuesday a fantastic Christmas present for the district.
Geir Jørgensen in Rødt, like FRP’s Halleland, believes the electrification of Hammerfest LNG will be a dubious settlement of the climate accounts.
– Gas that is not used to run Melkøya will be sold to other countries in the future and cause climate emissions there, says the Storting representative.
– Crazy greenwashing
The newspaper northern Lights reacts badly, like Frp and Rødt, to Equinor’s plans, which they call “crazy greenwashing”.
In an editorial, the newspaper writes that Equinor’s plan to operate the natural gas factory at Melkøya, which today gets its power from a separate gas-fired power plant, with electricity from the grid, will mainly mean that the business on Hammerfest Island will be reduced.
– Today’s gas-fired plants will be closed, with the loss of jobs. These will be resurrected elsewhere in Europe, which recognizes that fossil gas is crucial to energy security in the coming decades, the paper said.
“The energy to be used on Melkøya will have to come from Troms and Nordland. The particularly serious thing is that it will happen while in a few years the region will have a power deficit, according to Sintef calculations”, writes the editorial.
The Hammerfest measure will reduce Norwegian emissions, but will not contribute to global emissions reductions. At the same time, the direct and indirect negative consequences for the population and business in Northern Norway will be enormous, says the leader of Nordlys.
