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UN Climate Panel experts visit Statkraft
The world’s top climate experts have visited Statkraft to learn about hydropower and osmotic power.
“Renewable energy is the key to solving the climate challenges. Statkraft’s osmotic power work constitutes an important pioneering effort in this area,” stated Professor Olav Hohmeyer from Germany when the UN Climate Panel, IPCC, visited Statkraft’s osmotic power plant at Hurum on 2 September.
Report on renewable energy
IPCC met in Oslo from 1 to 4 September to work on a special report on renewable energy. The report will include hydropower, wave power and wind power and outline how far the various technologies have been developed and what their potentials are.
In addition to working together on the various chapters of the report, the authors used their trip to Norway to visit he hydropower plant at Kaggefoss and the NordPool power exchange in Oslo. On Wednesday, they took a field trip to Statkraft’s new osmotic power plant at Hurum, which will be officially opened later this year.
”Pioneering effort”
Professor Olav Hohmeyer was impressed following his visit to the osmotic power plant. ”The osmotic power plant is a pioneering effort at an early stage, and the success depends on developing an optimally functional membrane with a long operating life which can be mass-produced. If such a membrane can be developed, osmotic power could potentially become a major renewable source of energy,” Hohmeyer believes.
Dr. Arun Kumar of India also pointed out that the osmotic power work is at an early stage. ”Osmotic power is one of five or six marine technologies which can be used in power production. It will be exciting to watch this development unfold,” says Kumar.