The Finnfjord smelting plant in Senja, northern Norway, wants to become the world's first producer of ferrosilicon without carbon dioxide emissions, but it needs far more electricity than it can currently get, NRK reports.
Chief executive Geir-Henning Wintervoll told the broadcaster the plant already uses almost one terawatt-hour a year to make around 100,000 tonnes of ferrosilicon, one of the most power-hungry processes in industry. Going emission-free would need nearly half a terawatt-hour more, beyond what its own steam turbine can supply, so the company is waiting in the queue for grid capacity.
NRK says industrial projects worth almost 59 billion kroner are waiting for power north of the Svartisen glacier. Statkraft's regional director, Maren Joné, said protecting existing hydropower capacity was essential and hoped wind power could be built faster.
Source: NRK
