Norway rejects role as Europe's green battery, halts new power cables to Germany

Norway's Energy Minister, Terje Aasland, has rejected the concept of Norway serving as the ‘green battery’ for Europe, specifically addressing Germany's energy transition strategy. Aasland stated that Norway will not construct new subsea power cables to continental Europe.

Instead, Oslo is maintaining its plans to develop oil and gas extraction in the Barents Sea, regardless of directives from Brussels. The Norwegian government criticized Germany for decommissioning dispatchable, base-load power plants—including nuclear and coal—in favor of over 200 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity.

Norway argues that while installed renewable capacity appears high on paper, it fails to provide reliable power during periods of low wind and sunlight, known as ‘dark doldrums.’ Aasland emphasized that European nations, particularly Germany, must develop their own controllable power generation capabilities to manage residual loads that batteries and intermittent renewables cannot meet.