Norway’s euroskeptic Centre Party quit the government on Jan. 30 in a dispute over the adoption of European Union net-zero energy policies.
The center-left Labour Party wanted Norway, which is not part of the EU but adopts most of the bloc’s laws, to adopt EU directives on renewable energy consumption, energy performance in buildings, and increased overall energy efficiency, government ministers said.
The Centre Party opposed all three directives, saying they would erode Norwegian autonomy.
The announcement by Centre Party lawmaker and Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum deprives Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere of his only coalition partner and eight of the 20 members of his cabinet, including the defense, finance, and justice ministers.
“The conclusion for us is that the Centre Party does not want to be part of this development,” Vedum said at a press conference on Thursday. “We want to take back more national control.”
Labour, which has been part of a coalition government since 2021, could govern alone until the next election is held in September.
The Norwegian government has also proposed fixed-price contracts of 40 øre/kWh (about $0.038/kWh) starting on Oct. 1. This is nearly seven times cheaper than the EU average of €0.2889/kWh (about $0.31/kWh) and significantly below current market rates.
The government said that the new measures will strengthen Nordic cooperation to ensure stable and low electricity prices.
Norway’s interconnectors are high-voltage subsea cables that link its electricity grid to Denmark and neighboring countries, enabling the exchange of power between markets and allowing it to export its abundant hydropower and import electricity when needed.
The conservative Progress Party argued that renewable energy exports from Germany, and also the UK, are contributing to a “price infection” spreading to Norway when no wind and solar energy is being produced.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has been at the center of the energy debate since it shut down its last three nuclear power plants in 2023, a decision pushed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
While these plants can operate for decades, Germany opted to rely more heavily on alternative sources such as wind and solar.
Critics said that the growing discontent in Norway and Sweden reflects a broader trend of energy nationalism.
“Electricity interconnectors mean that high prices from one country can spread to others, and this risk is prompting the rise of energy nationalism,” Wilkinson said. “Norway, which has cheap electricity from hydropower, is understandably reluctant to subsidize Germany’s risky experiment with renewables and bonkers nuclear phase-out.”
Wilkinson said the energy policies of the UK and Germany are “akin to economic suicide.”
“It is no surprise that other countries want to avoid any contagion. Their Governments must get energy prices down if they want good relations with their neighbors,” he said.
