Hydropower & Aluminum
Turbine-hall of Karanhjukar hydro-power plant. (Photo: Greenland Development)
Aluminum production is one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world. When the industry emerged at the end of the 19th century, this reliance on energy meant that all aluminum production was located close to hydropower potentials. It was not until later that coal-fired and oil-fired power stations of sufficient capacity were developed that allowed the production of aluminum, while transmission lines were also developed that enabled aluminum plants to be located further from the source of electricity production.
Aluminum production and hydroelectric power have thus always had a historical connection. Up until the 1950s the vast majority of the world's aluminum production was based on hydroelectric power, but this situation has gradually changed. This is due to the fact that many countries without hydropower potentials, but with large reserves of coal or natural gas, have had the establishment of an aluminum industry on their agenda. Another contributory factor, however, is that in many countries there are limited opportunities to develop new, competitive hydroelectric power.
In Greenland we have never needed to utilize our largest sources of hydropower. The largest potentials of hydropower are located a long way from the towns and contain much greater quantities of energy than we ourselves can exploit. When the hydroelectric power plant near Nuuk was constructed in 1989-1993, it was regarded as being a very big power station by Greenlandic standards - a potential source of power that the town would not be able to fully exploit for many years to come. In 2008 the power station was upgraded from 30 Megawatt (MW) to 45 MW, but, despite this, less than half of the area's total hydroelectric potential is exploited.
Supplying electricity to a modern aluminum plant requires several hundred MW, and there is thus a good match between the size of our biggest hydropower potentials and the energy requirements of the aluminum industry. If our hydropower potentials are also competitive internationally (low long-term electricity price), some of the most important prerequisites for the realization of the aluminum project will be met.
On the following pages you can read about the aluminum industry in general and about the actual development activities currently taking place in Greenland.