Energy from the fjord
Norway is the land of the fjords. For a century the Norwegians have harnessed energy from the water cascading down from the mountains and into the deep, cold fjords. Now, however, they are using the stable temperatures of the fjord to heat and cool public buildings.
The Norwegians have harvested the fjords for thousands of years. Now the small town of Eid in Nordfjordeid use the fjord to heat and cool their buildings (Photo: Wikimedia)
The company Fjordvarme AS ("Fjordvarme" translates into fjord heat) pumps seawater from the fjord to two heat exchangers, where the system extracts energy from the sea water. The low temperature energy is then transported to the customers through a system of pipes below the streets of the town of Nordfjordeid, and is utilized by heat pumps at the recipients. Through the heat pump this energy can be used either for heating or cooling. The city hall utilize the energy for both heating and cooling, which has resulted in better working conditions and a reduced energy use of 7000 kw/H a week. The heat pump is sufficient even when the temperatures drop below -10 degrees Celsius. In the town as a whole the energy use has been cut by seven million kw/H!
Opera house. No matter if its heated drama or chillin' jazz tunes, Fjordvarme makes sure the temperature is just right. (Photo: Øystein Torheim / Operahuset Nordfjord)
Football and opera
It is not only the town’s bureaucrats who can take pleasure in the energy from the fjord. It is also used to keep the town’s football field free from ice and snow all through the winter. Even through longer periods of time with sub zero temperatures, a heat pump of only 28kW keeps the field free of ice and snow. The Fjordane College also uses the fjord energy to heat and cool their students, while the hospital uses it to keep their patients nice and snug. Since the high school was connected to the grid a few years ago, they have effectively cut their electricity use by half. The town’s hotel uses it to heat its pool house, and the opera house uses it to make sure that the temperature is comfortable for both spectators and primadonnas.
Yes, Norfjordeid, a city of 2 645 inhabitants in a remote Norwegian fjord, has its own opera house.
Fjord energy - a resource with huge potential and many benefits
- Thermal energy from sea and lakes can generate 5TWh of clean energy in Norway.
- The energy has no emissions and is cheap to develop.
- If a town is situated by the shore the energy loss is relatively low.
- The energy source is inexhaustible.
- Based on the use of a local energy source (sea/ocean), this technology gives reduced need for oil and electrical power.
- Can reduce the need for development of high-voltage network.
Further reading
Fjordvarme A/S (in Norwegian)
More about the project in Norfjordeid (in English)
Norwegian heat pump association (in Norwegian)
Eid municipality (in Norwegian)
Measurable targets for Fjordvarme-project
Total square meters heated by Fjordvarme-technology: 125.000
Delivered heat exchange energy: 18.000.000 kWh
Yearly net energy saving: 12.000.000 khw
Achieved by now
70.000 square meters heated by Fjordvarme-technology
Approximately 9.000.000 kWh heat exchange energy delivered
Approximately 6.000.000 kWh net energy saved
