Superflexible Hydropower for the Nordic Grid: Accelerating the Energy Transition

The efficacy of flexible reservoir-based hydropower for renewable integration is evident throughout the world in places like Norway, Canada, Brazil, India, and China, to name a few. The flexibility of hydropower, both at the reservoir and generation side, could enable higher shares of intermittent renewable sources in regions where hydropower is readily available. In Norway, hydropower is the backbone, enabling extraordinary cheap electricity from new renewables. Compared to Germany, where coal power plants are the main backup producers for weather-dependent renewables, Norwegian hydropower is much more flexible to dispatch when the load changes. Although we are still waiting for the missing link to back up intermittent renewables everywhere, pursuing the flexibility of hydropower can be a transformative solution in places where it applies. This solution is especially true for the Nordic power grid, where Norway alone hosts half of Europe’s entire hydropower storage capacity.