The current status of hydropower development and dam construction in Norway

With a topography characterized by high mountain plateaux, numerous natural lakes, steep valleys and short distances to the sea, Norway is, almost perfectly, made for hydropower. As is the case in many other industrialized countries, Norway had a peak for hydropower development after the second world war up to the early 1980s. Political support for renewable energy, with a view to limiting releases of CO2, the potential for power exchange with other countries, changing market conditions and the requirement to upgrade old hydropower plants are triggering a new busy period for hydropower development in Norway. Hydro development is still the main reason for dam construction in Norway.