If Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit is vying to be listed as one of the world’s greenest royals, she’s on her way with the opening the world’s first osmotic power plant just outside of Oslo, mixing fresh water with salt water to generate power.
The technology has been in development for 10 years by one of Europe’s largest renewable energy company, Statkraft. The group develops and generates hydropower, wind power, gas power, and district heating, and is a major player on the European power exchanges. The company also develops marine energy, osmotic power, solar power, and among other innovative energy solutions.
"In an era of major climate change and an increasing need for clean energy, we are proud to be presenting a renewable energy source which has never been harnessed until now. We are also most grateful that the Crown Princess wishes to lend her support to this milestone in our development of osmotic power," says Statkraft CEO, Bård Mikkelsen.
The project is set to start a trial run on November 24, but will have a limited production capacity and is intended primarily for testing and development purposes. The goal is to be able to construct a commercial osmotic power plant within a few years.
The global potential of osmotic power is estimated to be 1,600- 1,700 TWh per annum, equivalent to 50% of the EU’s total power production.
Through the ownership of other companies, Statkraft supplies energy and heating to more than 600,000 customers in Norway.