About NO4-North Dam

The NO4 North zone covers Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark — the vast Arctic and sub-Arctic region stretching from the Arctic Circle northward to Norway's border with Russia and Finland, encompassing nearly half of Norway's total land area. This zone is home to some of the most spectacular fjord and mountain landscapes in the world, and its hydropower resources are fed by both snowmelt and glacial runoff from the massive Svartisen glacier system, the second largest glacier complex in mainland Europe. The Alta, Sørfjord, Rana, and Ofoten complexes are among the largest schemes in the zone, which has a total storage capacity of approximately 18.3 TWh. Northern Norway's electricity production significantly exceeds its domestic consumption, making it a major net exporter to southern Norway and to Sweden via the Nordlink and other interconnectors. The NO4 zone experiences extreme seasonal variation in daylight — from polar night in winter to midnight sun in summer — which shapes both electricity demand and the timing of reservoir inflows. Statkraft's Svartisen scheme alone has an installed capacity of 350 MW, utilising glacial meltwater tunnelled directly from the glacier to underground turbines. The Sámi reindeer herding communities of Finnmark depend on catchment areas that overlap with reservoir management zones, and Norway's environmental legislation requires sensitive balancing of hydropower operation with indigenous land rights.