Norway’s parliament has voted to allow hydropower plants in previously protected rivers, triggering outrage from environmental groups who warn of severe consequences for fish and other wildlife.
The new law permits power plants exceeding 1MW in size to be built in protected waterways if they provide a “significant” societal benefit and have “acceptable” environmental consequences. The measure, passed on Thursday, is part of a broader initiative to enhance flood and landslide protections.
Une Bastholm, a Green Party member of parliament, condemned the decision as “a historic attack on Norwegian nature” when it was first proposed last week.
Environmental activists fear this policy will lead to an “endless stream” of disputes over river development. Critics argue that the government pushed the bill through without adequate public consultation or environmental impact studies. Truls Gulowsen, head of the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature, vowed to resist the decision, stating: “We will fight for every single protected watercourse, for every river, every waterfall and every lake. We will not give up what we have won through more than a hundred years of watercourse struggle because of an ill-considered and irresponsible hasty decision.”
Norway has long safeguarded nearly 400 rivers, preventing their damming by large-scale power plants. However, these ecosystems already face mounting threats from intensive agriculture and climate change. Protesters gathered outside parliament on Tuesday, delivering a petition with 25,000 signatures opposing hydropower expansion in protected waterways.
Supporters of the law dismiss concerns, insisting that environmental regulations remain stringent and that hydropower projects will still undergo rigorous assessments before receiving approval. The proposal was backed by the Conservative, Progress, Labour, and Centre parties, while the Christian Democrats withdrew their support over concerns about the wording.
Pål Mugaas, spokesperson for Norske Lakseelver (Norwegian Salmon Rivers), lamented the decision: “It’s a sad day for the wild salmon and all the other species in what was supposed to be permanently protected rivers.”
Norwegian politics have been increasingly divided over renewable energy projects. The government collapsed in January due to a dispute over adopting the EU’s latest clean energy package. The country’s power grid, one of the cleanest globally, relies heavily on hydropower, making Norway a net energy exporter with historically low electricity prices.
Merethe Dotterud Leiren, a political scientist at the Cicero Centre for International Climate Research, highlighted the broader political implications: “This situation makes it politically harder to defend investments in renewables.”
Most energy disputes in Norway have centered on wind power, particularly a wind farm project that violated the rights of indigenous Sámi reindeer herders in 2021, sparking international protests led by climate activists such as Greta Thunberg.
While hydropower generally enjoys greater public support than wind energy, Leiren noted: “There are basically no places left to build large hydroelectric power plants without building in protected nature.”
Fornybar Norge, the Norwegian renewable energy lobby group, defended the policy change, stating: “This will, among other things, be relevant for projects that have a significant flood-reducing effect. At the same time, it is good that the decision is not a free pass for the construction of new facilities in protected watercourses.”
Despite this, Norway’s Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has previously stated that expanding hydropower into protected rivers would yield minimal energy benefits without causing significant environmental harm. NVE director Kjetil Lund warned: “There is barely any great potential for development in protected waterways, unless you want to exploit the most beautiful, most valuable nature we have.”
