Statkraft AS is a

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

company, fully owned by the Norwegian state. The Statkraft Group is Europe's largest generator of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

, as well as

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

’s largest and the Nordic region's third largest energy producer. Statkraft develops and generates hydropower,

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

, gas power, district heating and solar power. It is also a player in the international

energy market An energy market is a type of commodity market on which electricity, heat, and fuel products are traded. Natural gas and electricity are examples of products traded on an energy market. Other energy commodities include: oil, coal, carbon emission ...

s. The company has 7,000 employees in over 20 countries with their headquarters located in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

History

The Norwegian state acquired its first ownership rights to a waterfall when they bought Paulenfossen in Southern Norway in 1895. In 1921, the

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ( or NVE) is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water resources and energy supply. Its mandate in ...

(NVE) was created to operate the nation's power plants. From 1950 to 1960, the state constructed large hydropower plants across the country. In 1986, the power plants and central power grid were split off as Statskraftverkene, which was divided again in 1992 into Statkraft and

Statnett Statnett is a Norwegian state-owned enterprise responsible for owning, operating and constructing the stem power grid in Norway. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Statnett also owns 30% of the Nord Pool Spot along with other No ...

. Statkraft SF was created as a government enterprise. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Statkraft acquired a number of power plants in Norway in addition to expanding internationally. In 2004, Statkraft was reorganized as a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, Statkraft AS, still wholly owned by the state.

International expansion

Statkraft expanded internationally over the beginning of the 21st century, opening plants in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

(1993),

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

(2003),

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

(2004),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(2004), UK (2006),

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(2007),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(office 1999, power generating from 2007),

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(2008),

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(office from 1998, power generation from 2018),

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(2018) and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(2018). The group also opened offices in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(2009) and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2007, Statkraft and

E.ON E.ON SE is a European multinational electric utility company based in Essen, Germany. It operates as one of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service providers. The name originates from the Latin word '' aeon'', derived from ...

signed a letter of intent to swap Statkraft's shares in E.ON

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in exchange for flexible power production assets and shares in E.ON. The total value of the asset swap was €4.4 billion. The transaction made Statkraft Europe's largest producer of renewable energy in 2018. In December 2023, Statkraft acquired a 450 MW 'water battery' project next to

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoology, cryptozoological Loch Ness Mons ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to store renewable energy. In May 2024, Statkraft finalized the acquisition of Spanish renewables company Enerfin, the renewable energy subsidiary of Elecnor Group. This deal will add a portfolio of 1.5 GW of wind and solar projects to its assets.

Statkraft today

Hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

provides the majority of Statkraft's renewable energy. The total annual power production was 70

TWh TWH or twh could refer to: * Tai Dón language, a language of Vietnam, Laos, and China * Tai Wo Hau station, Hong Kong; MTR station code * Tennessee Walking Horse, a breed of horse * Toronto Western Hospital, a hospital in Toronto, Canada * Tun ...

in 2021. In 2013, Statkraft began constructing the Devoll Hydropower project In south eastern

. It consists of two hydropower plants, Banja and Moglicë in the Devoll valley, with an installed capacity of roughly 256 MW. Banja power plant was completed in 2016, with the third being completed by 2019. The total project is expected to cost more than 600 million euros. Production takes place in more than 300 hydropower plants in Norway, Sweden, Germany, UK, Turkey, as well as several countries in South America and Asia. Statkraft is involved in other hydropower projects in the Nordic region and Southeast Europe. The company is developing new production capacity in selected countries in South America and Asia.

Wind power

Wind power is a renewable and emission free energy resource. The EU has set ambitious goals for the reduction of emissions and the development of renewable energy. Statkraft owns wind power plants in Germany and France.

Solar power

Solar power will be an even more important energy source in the future. Statkraft has worked with solar energy since 2010 and has solar power plants in India and the Netherlands. In November 2020, Statkraft announced it had acquired Solarcentury for NOK 1.45 billion, taking full control of the company and its solar production facilities in Europe and South America.

District heating

District heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...

is a separate energy system that forms a natural part of the energy supply for towns and cities and densely populated areas. District heating based on renewable energy sources can have a positive environmental effect. Through the subsidiary Statkraft Varme, the Statkraft Group owns and operates a number of district heating plants in Norway and Sweden.

References

{{coord, 59, 54, 55.11, N, 10, 38, 7.92, E, type:landmark, display=title Government-owned companies of Norway Electric power companies of Norway Holding companies of Norway Norwegian companies established in 1986 Energy companies established in 1986 Renewable energy companies of Europe Government-owned energy companies