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Norway could become world’s first 'fully electric' country: car industry rep

The Local Norway
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Norway could become world’s first 'fully electric' country: car industry rep
File photo: Erlend Aas / NTB scanpix

Industry interest organisation Energi Norge says that Norway is in with a chance of becoming the world’s first fully electrically powered society.

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A target of becoming 100 percent electric by 2050 is achievable, according to the firm.

The organisation handed over a new plan for growing green energy to climate minister Vidar Helgesen on Monday, reports news agency NTB.

24 specific proposals for making Norway more electrically-powered are included in the plan.

“Climate change and job losses in the oil industry are two of the biggest challenges facing Norway today. We believe that sustainability has a huge potential to contribute in both of these areas,” director Oluf Ulseth of Energi Norge (Energy Norway) told NTB.

“Our target is for Norway, based on hydro power and better collaboration between businesses and the authorities, to become the world’s first fully electric society by 2050. That will enable us to take a leading role in climate work while improving our competitiveness,” he said.

96 percent of Norway’s electricity is already produced by hydro power, according to the report. Additionally, the country can boast a well-developed energy system, with extensive use of electricity for domestic power supplies.

“This gives us a unique opportunity to convert other sectors to electricity and thereby reduce emissions,” Ulseth said.

A complete conversion would require considerable effort within the transport industry, along with oil and coal, he added.

READ ALSO: All-electric ferry to navigate Norway fjords

“Conversion to electricity is, along with biofuels, the key to making the transport sector emissions free, whether energy is stored in batteries or in the form of hydrogen,” he said.

As many as 110,000 electric cars are already on Norwegian roads, and parliament has already decided that no fossil fuel-powered private cars will be sold in the country after 2025.

Oil and gas industries can also reduce their emissions if rigs are supplied by electric power from Norway’s mainland, writes NTB.

Conversion to electric will also create new jobs in industry and technology, says Energi Norge, with over 100 companies in Norway already engaged in conversion to electricity, including in the maritime sector.

“We hope that capital production in the sustainable energy industry can be doubled by 2050,” Ulseth said.

READ ALSO: Half of new cars in Norway now electric or hybrid

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