Upgrading Norway's current hydro plants could provide an extra 10TWh, according to the Norway Electricity Association.
A spokesman for the association told IWPDC that the country’s demand for electricity had grown to 125TWh and as its hydro production was currently 118TWh, it was importing electricity from Denmark, Russia and Sweden to make up for the shortfall.
It is likely that Norway will build gas-fired plants within the next ten years to complement its existing hydro base, as it has large reserves of natural gas. In the meantime, although there are environmental barriers to the construction of new hydro capacity, upgrading could squeeze a further 5-10TWh out of existing plants, he added.
For more details on IWP&DC’s conference, Uprating and Refurbishing Hydro Power Plants VIII (to be held from 10-12 December 2001 in the Czech Republic) contact Julie Rossiter, at Wilmington Publishing, Wilmington House, Church Hill, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent, DA2 7EF, UK, Tel: +44 1322 394 706, Fax: +44 1322 276743, Email: jrossiter@wilmington.co.uk.
A call for papers has been issued and 500-word abstracts can be submitted in English (please provide full contact details for the authors).
The conference language will be English. Papers may be accepted for oral or poster presentation and will be accepted only if the author or co-author undertakes to attend the meeting to present the paper.