Hydropower dominated Norway's energy mix added 70 MW of new solar PV capacity between January 2023 and April 2023 taking the country's total installed solar PV capacity to 373.025 MW at the end of 4 months, says Elhub which is the country's central metered data hub.
Operating under the state grid operator Statnett, Elhub counts this 373 MW to have been deployed through 20,216 solar systems, of which 3,601 were installed during 4M/2023.
According to the official data, Norway exited 2022 having added 152.7 MW new PV capacity and in 2021 the number was 42.66 MW.
Maximum installations come from the residential segment ranging up to 20 kW, with 20 kW to 100 kW segment following next.
Elhub admits that solar power production remains 'modest' in Norway at present as hydropower accounts for 88%, wind power 10% and thermal power 1.7% of the energy production mix.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a global oil and natural supplier Norway aims to become a carbon neutral country by 2030. Norway is also a European leader in electrification of cars and heating, with the highest heat pump capacity per capita in Europe, a trend supporting demand for solar. The country currently hosts Europe's only solar wafer manufacturers – and is considered an important piece of the puzzle for the region to re-build its solar manufacturing value chain.