What is Hemsil 3 power plant?

The Hemsil 3 power plant is a parallel development to the Hemsil 2 power plant, which utilizes the same waterfall. The intake dam is the Eikredammen, the inlet tunnels are physically connected and the outlet will go to the same place as Hemsil 2 in the Hallingdalselva River. Hemsil 3 will be built as a mountain facility within Hemsil 2. In practice, Hemsil 3 is the third unit in the Hemsil 2 power plant and in an operational context, production will therefore be optimized between the three units. Power production will increase from approximately 590 to 700 GWh annually in the plant.

The environmental consequences are taken care of by new conditions in the Hemsil regulation. Hafslund has started work on following up on the conditions that have been given through the study and planning of measures, including the establishment of facilities for minimum water flow and biotope measures downstream of Eikredammen in order to utilize the adopted minimum water flow in the best possible way.

The planning has not revealed any new conditions within cultural heritage, habitats, natural diversity or other cultural heritage themes that change previous assessments given by NVE in the recommendation for Hemsil 3, in the recommendation for a condition revision for the Hemsil regulation or in the final processing of new conditions for the Hemsil regulation by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

About the process towards a licence

The project was originally applied for in January 2013. The application was finalized by NVE with a recommendation given on 18 December 2014. In parallel with the case processing of Hemsil 3, NVE and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy carried out a condition revision of the conditions for the Hemsil regulation.

These two cases must be seen in context, as the Hemsil regulation covers the Hemsil watercourse down to the confluence with the Hallingdal River. A new license for the Hemsil regulation was granted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on June 23, 2021.

Hemsil 3 was put on hold due to lack of profitability in 2017. In October 2022, Hafslund Kraft (formerly Hafslund Eco Vannkraft) requested the authorities to reopen the case for processing and on June 26, 2024, we received a license from the King in Council.