Salmon Evolution’s new farm to run on hydro power

Aquaculture business Salmon Evolution has struck a deal with Norway’s state-owned power supplier to ensure that its new land-based farm at Indre Harøy will run on renewable energy.

Salmon Evolution’s agreement with Statkraft, which is fully owned by the Norwegian state, means that the new plant will be run entirely on hydroelectric power.

Statkraft is Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. The electricity will be sourced from Statkraft’s hydropower plant at Grytten in Rauma Municipality, only around 60 kilometres from Indre Harøy, where farming operations are expected to commence during March 2022.

As part of the agreement, Salmon Evolution has secured a fixed electricity price covering the vast majority of the Company’s electricity needs for 2022 and 2023 at what the company calls “highly attractive commercial terms”, confirming original budget assumptions.

Trond Håkon Schaug-Pettersen, Chief Financial Officer of Salmon Evolution, said: “The execution of a green power purchase agreement directly with Statkraft’s Nordic Origination team is yet another strong testament to Salmon Evolution’s credibility in the market.

“Furthermore, this agreement is a great example of delivering on our vision, Extending the Ocean Potential, where we continuously push for an acceleration of new circular blue economies. Also, as our company now approach commercial operations, our customers can be 100% certain that our salmon is produced with the lowest possible environmental footprint, setting a new benchmark for sustainably produced salmon.”

The first phase at Indre Harøy will provide an annual capacity of 9 000 tonnes of salmon. After the full project has been completed with the third phase in 2028, annual capacity will have increased to 36 000 tonnes.

The company says that the plant will have a lower risk profile than many large land-based salmon farms, because it will operate a hybrid flow-through system rather than a pure RAS (recirculation aquaculture system) model.

Salmon Evolution is also constructing a land-based salmon farm in South Korea, in association with local conglomerate Dongwon Industries.