About OneCo
OneCo's services at the centre of the green shift
There is broad cross-party agreement that Norway should pursue an industrial policy that enables increased value creation through the green shift and electrification of society. This is clearly expressed in both the Solberg government's White Paper No. 13 and the Hurdal Declaration of the Støre government. Several major industrial initiatives are mentioned, such as battery factories, hydrogen production, data storage centres, electrification of the shelf, etc.
These are establishments that require large amounts of electrical energy. The electrification of car and ferry transport is also a stated policy that will be implemented shortly.
As a consequence of the industrial policy adopted and the locations chosen, combined with the electrification of the Norwegian continental shelf and the transport industry, investments will have to be made in both new production and transmission capacity.
OneCo's role and responsibility in the green shift
Increased focus on sustainability and a society that is increasingly emphasising the transition to renewable energy sources opens up a number of business opportunities for OneCo. We will take good care of these opportunities by ensuring that our deliveries to the market are made in as climate-neutral a way as possible. Among other things, we will do this by setting the same standard requirements for our business partners.
Deployment of 5G infrastructure
The government has allocated NOK 560 million that can be used to develop fast broadband in rural areas in the period up to 2025, and NKOM is drawing a target picture of an alternative transmission grid by 2030. The transmission grid is the main route in the power system and connects producers and consumers in different parts of the country with each other. Billions will be spent on developing broadband with speeds of at least 100 megabits per second for households and businesses in rural areas. This is based on various subsidies and the telecoms operators' competition for the market. Investments in 5G development and transmission networks will enable the digitalisation of Norway.
OneCo's contribution to the digitalisation of Norway
OneCo is well underway with the rollout of 5G, fixed networks and transmission networks. As a decentralised organisation, we are well positioned to contribute to the digitalisation of Norway. We are currently building for Telenor, Telia, Altibox, Ice and other important players.
Electrification of transport
The number of new registrations of electric cars in Norway continues to reach new heights and the proportion of electric cars in the total car fleet is increasing every year. Of all new passenger cars registered for the first time in 2022, 138,265 were electric cars, corresponding to a share of 79.3 %.
The majority of electric vehicles so far have been private cars. Already in 2022, we saw several additions of electric vans and commercial vehicles, and more new models are expected to hit the Norwegian market in the coming years. In 2022, 28,309 vans were registered in Norway, according to Statistics Norway. 24 % of these were electric, compared with 17 % the year before. Increased permitted payload (compared with fossil-fuelled vans) and longer range are making electric commercial vehicles more relevant to more and more people.
In addition, increased efforts have been announced to increase the electrification of means of transport such as buses and ferries. In recent years, OneCo has completed several charging systems for "heavy charging" and has built up solid expertise in this area.
Power development
NVE, Statnett and Statkraft all emphasise the need for renewable energy production if we are to achieve our climate goals. Technological developments have meant that the lifetime cost, measured in terms of cost per unit of energy produced, has fallen drastically for renewable energy. Demand for fossil fuels will fall, and demand for renewable energy will increase. At the same time, the cost of developing renewable energy will fall. There will also be a great need to expand the infrastructure (power grid) that will distribute the electricity produced.
OneCo's role in power development
Energy efficiency in private homes and the distribution of consumption throughout the day are becoming more important factors in a modern power market in order to optimise both the production and transport costs of energy. In this area, too, OneCo contributes with system solutions that can optimise energy consumption for the individual consumer.
OneCo currently contributes to the construction and upgrading of power generation facilities. In addition, we offer services where we build and operate the power grid. This is a prerequisite for ensuring enough electricity with stable availability to the end customer.
Solar cells
From being very conservative in its projections on solar energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) now envisages that solar energy will account for 80 % of the growth in energy production by 2030, going from an 8 % market share for electricity in 2019 to 30 % in 2030. The roadmap for the solar energy industry in Norway towards 2030 estimates that the annual turnover for the installation of photovoltaic systems in Norway, solar parks, the process industry and floating solar power plants will reach NOK 60-118 billion in 2030. In addition to this comes the turnover in the other parts of the industry.
OneCo's role in solar development
By developing smart and innovative solutions, we help our customers and society as a whole to reduce energy consumption and increase their use of renewable energy sources. For example, solutions that make buildings more energy-smart can help reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions.
Together with our customer Pareto Alternative Investments, OneCo has installed solar panels on a number of commercial buildings around Norway in 2022. This allows customers to both cover the consumption of the building itself and feed more renewable energy into the electricity grid.
We are also seeing a growing demand for system solutions that integrate solar, batteries and electric car charging. OneCo has built up solid expertise in this area, and has delivered several exciting projects in 2022.
"The collaboration with OneCo has enabled us to take a big step forward in reducing the energy consumption of the buildings in our portfolio. Thanks to OneCo's solutions and expertise in solar cell installations, we have agreed to install solar cell systems with an installed capacity equivalent to approximately 20 megawatts of solar energy on our own buildings. This corresponds to approximately 16 GWh per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of about 1,000 homes."
Jonathan Barefoot
Partner & Investment Director at Pareto Alternative Investments.