Higher energy use in manufacturing

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The preliminary figures show that the total energy consumption in Norwegian industry, mining and quarrying was around 79 000 GWh in 2017, which is 3.8 per cent higher than in 2016. Energy costs increased by 8.5 per cent in the same period to NOK 20.3 billion.

The higher energy use is mostly due to an increase in the usage of self-produced gas after the drop seen in 2016. In 2017, around 10 600 GWh of self-produced gas was consumed, as shown in the statistics energy use in manufacturing sector. This is about the same level as 2015. Consumption of purchased electricity continues to increase, and grew by 1.1 per cent in 2017 to 45 200 GWh. This accounted for almost 70 per cent of total purchased energy.

Figure 1. Manufacturing, mining and quarrying¹. Energy use by industry². TWh³

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Manufacturing n.e.c. 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3
Basic metals 33 37 36 33 34 34 27 30 30 30 30 31 32 32 33
Rubber, plastic and mineral prod. 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 4 5
Refined petro., chemicals, pharmac. 25 25 26 27 26 26 24 25 24 23 25 24 26 24 25
Pulp, paper and paperproducts 12 12 11 11 11 11 9 10 9 7 6 4 4 5 5
Wood and wood products 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Food products, beverages and tobacco 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 4 4 5 5 5
Mining and quarrying 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1
¹ The industries are by NACE Rev. 2. ² The energy use are inclusive coal products used as a reduction agent. ³ 1 TWh (terrawatt hour) = 1 billion kWh (kilowatt hour).

Increased energy consumption in power-intensive industry

The most energy-intensive industries are called power-intensive industry. With a total consumption of almost 54 000 GWh in 2017, which is an increase of 2.2 per cent from 2016, these industries accounted for almost 70 per cent of all energy use in Norwegian industry and mining.

Energy use in manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys increased by 7 per cent in 2017 to a total of 11 240 GWh. The increase is primarily due to a higher consumption of purchased electric power and purchased coal products. More energy was also used in 2017 than the previous year in the following industries:

  • manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard
  • manufacture of refined petroleum products

Few industries had a significant decrease in energy use in 2017. The largest decrease was seen within quarrying of stone, sand and clay, where energy use decreased by 18 per cent to 720 GWh, almost the same level as in 2015. Less energy was also used in 2017 than the previous year in the following industries:

  • production of basic Chemicals
  • manufacture of products of wood, cork, straw and plaiting materials

Figure 2. Manufacturing, mining and quarrying¹. Energy use by energy product². TWh³

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Electricity 47 50 51 49 50 51 41 45 44 43 43 44 45 45 46
Petroleum products for stationary use 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2
Petroleum products used for transport 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
Gas 17 16 17 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 17 15 16 15 17
Coal products 8 10 8 7 8 8 6 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9
Steam and district heating 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Biofuel and waste 5 5 5 5 6 6 5 5 6 4 4 3 3 3 3
¹ The industries are by NACE Rev. 2. ² The energy use are inclusive coal products used as a reduction agent. ³ 1 TWh (terrawatt hour) = 1 billion kWh (kilowatt hour)

Increased energy costs

Energy costs increased by NOK 1.6 billion from 2016 to 2017. The increase is due to a combination of higher consumption and higher price of electricity. This means that the cost of electricity increased by 5.7 per cent, which amounts to NOK 790 million. Another reason is that the cost of purchased gas went up 27 per cent in 2017, mostly due to a significant price increase of 18 per cent.

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