| Kårstø Power Station | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kårstø, Norway |
| Commission date | 2 November 2007 |
| Owner(s) | Naturkraft |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Natural gas |
| Generation units | 1 |
| Power generation information | |
| Maximum capacity | 420 MW |
Kårstø Power Station is a natural gas-fired thermal power plant located at the industrial site of Kårstø in Norway. The station is owned and operated by the company Naturkraft, that is again owned by Statkraft and Statoil and opened on 2 November 2007. Construction costs totaled NOK 2 billion and the turbine was delivered from Siemens.
The power station has an installed effect of 420 MW, with an annual production of 3.5 TWh, equivalent of 3% of the Norwegian electrical production. It consumes 0.6 normal cubic meter (BCM) natural gas per year, or 0.5% of Norwegian natural gas export. Emissions are 1.2 million tonnes carbon dioxide and 5 parts per million nitrogen oxide. The entire output of the station is in electricity, since there is no need for district heating in the uninhabited area. Spill water is emitted at 18 °C and not utilized.
On December 7 2011, Naturkraft AS decited to mothball the power station due to due to market situation. Running the plant on natual gas isn't feasible and start up time to bring it back online is 8 days.
The power station has been subject to massive controversy in Norway. Kårstø is the first commercial fossil fuel power station in Norway and environmentalists have argued that it is unnecessary to open another power station as long as Norway has the highest use of electricity per capita in the world.