Norway's Ministry of Energy is defining regulatory changes to enable surplus renewable power from plants up to 5 MW to be shared within industrial areas.

Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the new provisions will boost the country’s renewable energy share without straining the power network.

“We believe that the scheme can trigger investment in many new production plants, and at the same time help industrial companies reduce their energy costs by investing in their own energy production,” he said.

The new scheme will be part of the revised national budget for 2024 and will be under public consultation until Feb. 3, 2025. It is scheduled to come into force on July 1.

“The scheme will be particularly relevant for PV systems deployed in industrial areas,” Aasland said. “Restricting the scheme to these areas facilitates the sharing of surplus solar power production for a number of businesses where this may be relevant. At the same time, such a restriction contributes to geographical proximity between production and consumption.”

Aasland noted the benefits of siting solar power in areas where local consumption can absorb the output. He also said it is advantageous to build new solar facilities in regions where existing grid infrastructure can be used.

Norway reached 597 MW of cumulative installed PV capacity at the end of 2023.

Residential PV systems below 20 kW make up the largest share of the cumulative total, at around 190 MW, followed by solar systems with capacities ranging from 500 kW to 1 MW, which account for about 100 MW.