NIB finances new hydropower capacity in Norway

NIB has signed a 15-year maturity loan with Norwegian energy company Agder Energi AS to finance a new hydropower plant and to upgrade an existing plant in southern Norway.

The loan totals NOK 458 million (EUR 58 million) and will be used to construct the new Iveland II hydropower plant next to the existing Iveland plant utilising the river Otra of Kristiansand. Agder Energi will also replace the turbine wheel and renovate the generator at the Rygene power station on the Nidelva river south-west of Arendal.

Construction of Iveland II started in June 2013 and is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2016. The new plant is expected to increase Agder Energi’s annual production by 150 GWh.

The new plant will comprise a new water intake with control gate, a 1.9 km long new intake tunnel for water and a 44 MW Francis turbine. It will also have a new outlet channel, generator, transformer station and power lines connecting to the existing grid.

The upgrade of the Rygene power plant will raise efficiency in energy conversion by 5%, or 13.6 GWh, to a total of approximately 295 GWh. Works are scheduled to start in the autumn of 2013 and commissioning is planned for autumn 2015.

The Rygene power station is a run of river plant in the most downstream part in the Nidelva river. The plant has been in operation since 1978. The project comprises the replacement of a turbine wheel, control and emergency systems, transformers and renovation of the generator.

“Investments that increase the utilisation of hydro reserves in the Nordpool region contribute to securing supply and maintaining efficient operations in the Nordic and Baltic region, ” says Henrik Normann, NIB President and CEO.

Agder Energi AS is majority-owned by local municipalities and is Norway’s fourth largest hydropower producer. The company’s operations include the production, distribution, and sale of hydropower and energy-related services.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Mr Yngve Soderlund, Senior Manager Lending, at +358 10 618 0239,

Mr Arild Moen, Senior Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0496,