{"id":73,"date":"2009-04-16T20:32:23","date_gmt":"2009-04-17T00:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=73"},"modified":"2009-04-16T20:32:23","modified_gmt":"2009-04-17T00:32:23","slug":"water-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/water-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydro power"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I was running through the woods this morning with my dog, although it was beautiful, I became nostalgic about the waterfalls (fosser<\/strong>) in Norway.\u00a0 At this time of year, especially, there is an abundance of fosser <\/strong>running down the sides of hills, cliffs, and mountains.\u00a0\u00a0It\u00a0is so peaceful\u00a0to wander through the woods and observe the pristine remnants of\u00a0winter’s frozen\u00a0precipitation.\u00a0 This is the time of year that the snow in the high altitudes melts and trickles down to soak the ground below.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fosser <\/strong>in Norway are even more magnificent when you think about how useful they are. Hydropower is one of Norway’s primary industries.\u00a0 It is used in the production of metals, chemicals, petrochemicals, mineral products, paper and pulp.\u00a0 Almost one third of Norway’s hydropower is used to produce these materials.\u00a0 Surprisingly, 90% of Norway’s paper and pulp production is exported.\u00a0 90% is also the percentage of decline in harmful substance emissions in the last 10 years.\u00a0 If you would like more information about these industries in general, you can find it on norway.org’s website under “process industry.”<\/p>\n

Norsk Hydro <\/strong>is the world’s fourth largest aluminum company.\u00a0 The company has plants in 40 countries.\u00a0 The first plant was built in 1907 in Notodden.\u00a0 <\/strong>Five years prior, on Dec. 2, 1905, Sam Eyde, Marcus Wallenberg, and Edmond Moret (French) officially founded the company (originally Norsk hydro-elektrisk Kv\u00e6lstofaktieselskab –<\/strong>literally Norwegian hydro-electric nitrogen limited).\u00a0 The technology was actually developed by Kristian Birkeland,<\/strong> a <\/strong>professor who conducted extensive research on the northern lights and who originally intended for the technology\u00a0to be used for\u00a0harnessing energy to develop the electric cannon.\u00a0 As I am not a scientist, I do not understand the intricacies behind the production of electrical energy by harnessing the power of fosser.\u00a0 <\/strong>I understand only that the process of harnessing electric energy also allowed fixing nitrates\u00a0from the air to create artificial fertilizers, which, as you can imagine, was quite the life-saver for many people in Europe with insufficient food supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am astonished at how much ownership the Norwegian government has in the company-a whopping 43.8%!\u00a0 Another interesting tidbit about the company is the number of people it employs-28,000!\u00a0 I will leave you with one last fascinating piece of information about Norsk Hydro-<\/strong>the plant at Rjukan <\/strong>was shut down\u00a0by a sabotage raid by the Allied powers for fear that the Nazis would use the heavy water produced to use in the atomic bomb project.\u00a0 The plant at Rjukan <\/strong>was later reconstructed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As you gather, water and gravity create a powerful force that has provided Norway with a great wealth of industries and financial stability.<\/p>\n

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As I was running through the woods this morning with my dog, although it was beautiful, I became nostalgic about the waterfalls (fosser) in Norway.\u00a0 At this time of year, especially, there is an abundance of fosser running down the sides of hills, cliffs, and mountains.\u00a0\u00a0It\u00a0is so peaceful\u00a0to wander through the woods and observe the…<\/p>\n

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