The Norwegian Government has presented the criteria for the new support system for renewable electricity. Windpower producers will receive NOK 0.08 per kWh electricity produced (approx 0.009 Euros). Producers of electricity using immature technologies, and producers of electricity based on biomass will receive NOK 0.10 per kWh. Hydropower producers will receive NOK 0.04 per kWh for production representing the first 3 MW of the installed capacity. Support will be paid during 15 years. Owners of existing hydropower plants will also receive such support for upgrading the production capacity.

The support system will be in effect from 2008. To make sure that investments are not delayed waiting for the support system to enter into force, the transition system established when preparing for a Norwegian-Swedish electricity certificates’ system, will be continued. This means that windpower producers who have received investment support must repay this support if they want to revert to production support under the new system.

There are similarities between this new support scheme and the so-called feed-in tariffs used in many European countries. In Norway, the support will be managed by the state owned agency Enova, and financed over Enova’s budget.

In order to increase efforts in production and use of energy from renewable sources and energy efficiency, the Government has suggested the allocation of NOK 10 billion (approx 2.3 billion Euros) in the 2007 State Budget and will suggest the allocation of another NOK 10 billion in 2009 to a new Basic Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The annual yield from the Basic Fund is estimated at approx NOK 880 million (approx 100 million Euros) when fully financed. Today, Enova manages over NOK 700 million per annum. Including this extra allocation, Enova will manage about NOK 1.6 billion (approx 180 million Euros) annually from 2010.

About 1/3 of the total support will be allocated to production of renewable electricity. The remaining 2/3 will be allocated to increased efforts in the areas of bio energy and district heating, energy saving and energy efficiency measures. Financing the production of renewable electricity under this support system will be subject to additional financing over the State Budget if necessary.

-With these unique long term efforts to promote environmentally friendly production and use of energy, the Government has been able to set a new target of 30 TWh new production of electricity and heat from renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency in 2016 over the 2001-level. This is ambitious compared to today’s target of 12 TWh in 2010, says Mr. Odd Roger Enoksen, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy.