Cleaner Environment – Better Life

Opening remarks by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr Terje Riis-Johansen, at the Sino-Norwegian Energy and Environment conference in Shanghai, 27.05.2010.

Your Excellency, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour for me to be in Shanghai and to open the conference Cleaner environment – better life.

The content of the conference is well aligned with the activities taking place at the Norwegian EXPO 2010 pavilion today, where the focus is on Energy issues.

I am impressed by the interesting and extensive conference programme that the organisers have prepared.  I am certain that spending your day here will prove both fruitful and interesting. 

1. Norway and China
It is exciting for me to be back in China. I visited Beijing two years ago in connection with the Summer Olympics. Now I am witnessing another Chinese successin organising a giant event – EXPO 2010. I enjoyed very much my visit to the EXPO site yesterday and am looking forward to further exploring it today.

The co-operation between Norway and China in the field of renewable energy and water resources have been excellent for many years. For example,  in September 2006, NDRC and my Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Cooperation in Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy. This has lead to an increase in the contacts between our industry, authorities and research institutions.

In Beijing on Monday, we will sign a MoU with the Ministry of Water Resources on co-operation in various fields of water resources management. 

China is a major global player in renewable energy. China is already number 1 in the world in hydropower production and is rapidly developing it’s vast wind power potential. The figures from the World Wind Energy Report 2009 shows that China climbed to  second place in 2009 among the world’s leading wind power producers.

2. Introduction to the theme
The theme “Cleaner Environment – Better Life” is very timely chosen.

One fifth of the world’s population lacks access to electricity. Energy use is an absolute necessity in order to increase the standard of living.
At the same time the world faces a serious climate change challenge, which to a large extent is caused by the increasing demand for energy.

Fossil fuels are expected to remain the dominant source of energy and may account for up to 80 % of the world’s primary energy-mix in 2030. 
This represents one of the world’s major challenges as the production and use of fossil fuels is inseparably linked to climate change.

Consequently, there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A clean and stable environment is a prerequisite for a good life, but so is energy security. In the global fight against climate change, deployment of renewable energy and technology transfer therefore plays a crucial role.

We must combat climate change and secure access to energy for more people at the same time. To achieve this we must work simultaneously on a wide range of issues.

Clean energy is an important part of the solution, be it hydropower, solar, wind, bio energy or CCS. Currently, renewable energy provides about 18 per cent of the world’s electricity. Worldwide, there is a call for large-scale deployments of renewable energy.

In addition, we must be even better at how we use our energy resources in the most efficient way possible.

These measures will benefit the environment and improve the domestic security of supply. A highly valuable side effect of this effort will be the creation of many new skilled jobs in the “green sector”, which requires high competence and innovative ideas.
Being a Minister with responsibility also for water resources management, I appreciate the importance of water as a fundamental resource for providing amongst others drinking water, irrigation, transport and energy. Access to water, and especially clean water, will be even more important in the future when we can expect more stress on limited water resources.

I am pleased that several of these important topics will be covered more in depth later during the four parallel sessions.

3. Norway and renewable energy
Norway has been a major producer of renewable and clean energy for more than one hundred years. This is thanks to our hydropower resources, making Norway the world’s 6th largest hydropower producer.

Hydropower’s share of our electricity production is close to 100 per cent. The result is that the share of renewable energy in Norway’s total energy consumption is close to 60 per cent.

I would like to emphasize that we regard hydropower, of all sizes, as a clean, renewable and climate friendly source of energy. As an additional benefit, hydropower can work in synergy with intermittent and variable renewable sources such as wind and solar.

Close to 50 per cent of the reservoir capacity in Europe is located in Norway. This function is important in order to provide peak power for our neighboring countries.  Furthermore, it helps to maintain grid stability and energy storage, which can increase system reliability and balance the intermittency of energy derived from other renewable energy sources.

4. The future role of offshore wind
The potential for producing more renewable energy in Norway is huge.
We will continue our efforts in hydropower and develop more bio-energy projects and onshore wind.

I will highlight one area that will not be covered in detail later today, but where I see interesting prospects for a closer Sino-Norwegian cooperation.

Offshore wind has an enormous potential we can tap into if we get the technology and economy in these projects right. Looking some years into the future, I believe we can develop floating windmills which can harvest this resource.

Offshore wind power development is important and relevant for Norway because of two fundamental reasons:
o We have the industrial know- how,
o We have vast wind resources and
o we have 50 per cent of Europe’s hydropower reservoir capacity

Coupled with our hydro storage capacity and stronger interconnections, offshore wind from the Norwegian Continental shelf may become a major supplier of clean electricity to Europe in the future.

However, a future large-scale development of offshore renewable energy production presents us with a number of challenges. The challenges range from technology development and economic viability to legal and regulatory issues.

I know that China is also working hard to develop its offshore resources, and that This Sino-Norwegian collaboration will continue at the Offshore Wind China 2010 in June, also here in Shanghai. I am proud that Norway, through our Consulate General in Guangzhou and Innovation Norway is chosen as overseas co-organizer together with CREIA, Global Wind Energy Council and Shanghai International Exhibition. My Deputy Minister is looking forward to her participation at this event.

The solar PV sector is another arena for cooperation. Intpow has just organized a study tour in the nearby Zheijang province, gathering an impressive number of participants from the Norwegian solar cluster.

Due to our geographical location, solar energy will not be an important part of our national energy production, but by developing good technical and cost effective solutions, this industry will help boost the development of the renewable energy sector worldwide.

Indeed, to be successful the industry and the governments need each other. I believe that the challenges of developing these renewable resources can only be overcome through constructive public and private interaction.   
My goal is that Norway shall continue to be a world-leading nation in terms of clean energy and that this shall contribute to the establishment of green jobs. Working closely with China will be an important element in achieving this goal.

Closing
I will conclude by expressing my sincere belief in a clean future and
I hope you will enjoy fruitful and interesting discussions.

Thank you for your attention!