Norway. Lyse AS

The loan has been provided for co-financing electricity network investments and a new green office project in Norway.

The financing from NIB will be allocated to co-finance the following projects in the Rogaland County in South-Western Norway during the 2021-2024 period for the construction of a new 9-kilometre overhead line of 132 kV between Opstad and Håland, which will increase annual capacity from 27MV to 2×50 MV.

Another part of the investment is the construction of a new 13-kilometre 132 kV line between Fagrafjell, Vagle and Stokkeland to connect to the transmission grid from the Lysebotn hydropower station, which will increase the net capacity by 230 MW.

Investments will also be made in the construction of a 30 kilometre overhead 132 kV line between Dalen, Veland and Hjelmeland, including two substations. The upgrading of the existing 66 kV lines to 132 kV and substations will increase the grid capacity from 85 MW to 400 MW. The new line will enable the connection of new generation capacity of around 10.4 GWh. The reduced net losses are estimated at around 3,600 MWh annually.

Lnett, the network company in the Lyse Group, will continue the replacement of aging infrastructure and expansion of the distribution network in Rogaland network to enable the connection of new households, companies, and the electrification of transport.

In addition to grid investments, Lnett will also construct an office building in Sandnes. The building will achieve a rating of BREEAM (Nor) Excellent and be ready for use in 2022.

Lyse AS is a Norwegian diversified utility company founded in 1998 through a merger of several utility companies. Lyse’s business areas are energy, telecommunications, and power grid. The company comprise the production and supply of electricity, district heating and fibre-optic broadband services. Lnett AS is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and development of the power grid. Lyse AS is owned by 14 municipalities in Rogaland, Stavanger (45.7%) and Sandnes (19.5%), Sola (8.7%), Time (5.8%), Klepp, Hå, Randaberg, Eigersund, Strand, Hjelmeland, Gjesdal, Lund, Bjerkreim and Kvitsøy.

Productivity
In the ongoing transition of the power sector with increasing capacity demand and integration of wind and solar power into the existing power system, the infrastructure needs to adapt so it can accommodate a rising share of decentralised and fluctuating power generation. Lyse’s investment programme especially supports the continued electrification of society, such as transport and the expansion of the industry base by increasing access to reliable electricity provisions.

The construction of an office building (7,600 sq. m) located in Sandnes will replace the old office of Lyse Elnett and have around 250 office workstations. The previous office building was technically outdated with limited office space. Lyse considers the location and quality of the new building to have a significant effect on the ability to attract, recruit and retain talent.

Expected annual productivity impact related to the investment:

• Added new generation capacity connect to the grid
• Kilometres of new 132 kV lines added
• Final BREEAM certificate
• Number of employees working in the refurbished building

Environment
The regional grid investments will connect additional renewable generation with a production capacity of 10.4 GWh per year. Additionally, one of the objectives is to meet the increased capacity demands due to the general electrification of society, such as charging infrastructure for vehicles.

Expected annual environmental impact related to the investment:

• Added renewable power generation to the power grid, GWh
• Final BREEAM certificate
• Use of energy, watt hours per square meter and MWh
• Solar cell generation, MWh annually

No significant concerns have been identified.