Countries
The Bitdal dam in Norway
Hydropower
At Statkraft, we have 125 years of experience in hydropower and are the largest producer of electricity from hydropower in Europe. The majority of our power production is hydropower.
The advantages of hydropower are many. It is renewable, clean, reliable, flexible and can serve many generations with low-cost electricity from local resources. Hydropower produces no air pollutants and shows the lowest Green House Gases (GHG) emission of all power generation technologies.
In Norway, 90 per cent of all power generation comes from hydropower. Worldwide, hydropower accounts for approximately one sixth of the total electricity supply.
Statkraft's hydropower plants in numbers (2023)
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363Number of hydropower plants
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53.9 TWhTotal hydropower production
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15 541 MWInstalled hydropower capacity
Europe’s renewable energy battery
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Renewable: New turbine technology will make hydropower more flexible
Most hydropower turbines should not run below 60% power production capacity. Failure to do so may damage the turbines. Statkraft is participating in two international research projects that will...
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Energy production: Hydropower has a unique value
Sun and wind are the renewable energy sources growing at the fastest rate, but they depend on the sun shining and the wind blowing. Flexible hydropower is the only renewable energy source that can...
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Hydropower: Flood control
Climate change leads to more extreme weather with large amounts of precipitation over a short period. Sudden floods can cause major damage, but hydropower reservoirs can play an important role in...
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Machine learning: Teaching power plants to speak
The hydropower plants in Norway are getting older. This means costly maintenance and large reinvestments. What if the power plants could tell us what they needed and when?
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Hydropower: Safe energy in all weather
Record cold winters, dry summers and spring floods in the autumn. What does hydropower's flexibility mean in the age of extreme weather? The CEO of Statkraft explains.
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Maintenance: Ensures eternal life for hydropower
Good maintenance can ensure almost eternal access to clean, renewable energy from Norwegian hydropower plants. Many of the major power plants were built in the 1960s and are now facing necessary moder...
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Mythbusting: "Power companies are only concerned with profit!"
Owners of solar and wind power plants produce energy when the sun shines and the wind blows – regardless of price and demand. Hydropower companies with large reservoirs can control production to a...
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The Ringedal dam in Norway
Our hydropower ambitions
The Nordic portfolio is a unique and important source of flexible and stable power. Given its age, we will continue with reinvestments to keep the portfolio competitive and profitable.
We are also focusing on optimising and protecting the value of our hydropower assets outside the Nordics and will pursue growth through selected acquisitions and swaps that fit well with the rest of the portfolio.
Read more about our strategic ambitions
Hylen hydropower plant in Norway
How our hydropower plants work
The principle behind the production of hydropower is to use the energy of flowing water. Many hydropower plants benefit from several storage schemes. In some river systems we have several power stations positioned in cascade one after the other, so that the water’s energy can be exploited several times before it finally flows out into the sea. Inside the power station, the water drives a turbine producing mechanical energy which is turned into electrical energy in a generator. Hydropower schemes without reservoirs are often called run-of-river.
How our hydropower plants work
Visit one of our power plants
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Rheidol visitor centre
The Rheidol hydropower plant and the visitor centre can be found in beautiful surroundings near Aberystwyth on Wales' western coast.
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West Telemark Museum – Eidsborg
West Telemark Museum in Eidsborg is an impressive museum with a historical trail. Statkraft's Region South has its exhibition centre at the museum.
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Find out more about our hydropower assets
Statkraft has hydropower assets in Norway, Sweden, Germany, UK, Albania, Turkey, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Nepal and India. Find out more about our global hydropower activities by exploring the map below.