Norwegian Royal Plenary session: energy security and affordability
Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps, speaking at the Norwegian Royal Plenary about the importance of partnering with our long-standing ally on energy security and affordability.
A little over 80 years ago, just before midnight, on Tuesday February 16th, 1943…
A small team of Norwegian commandos, trained by the British Special Operations Executive in Scotland….. parachuted from an RAF plane onto a freezing mountain plateau in Telemark.
Against overwhelming odds…..
They managed to blow up part of the hydroelectric power plant at Vemork that had been taken over by the Nazis.
Our Norwegian friends here will know, that it was the largest plant of its type in the world at the time – and a symbol of Norway’s status as an energy superpower.
Not only was it the most audacious act of sabotage in modern military history..
But because Vemork was mass producing heavy water used in the nuclear fission process…
These heroes ended Hitler’s dream of building a nuclear bomb.
Eight decades on, Britain and Norway still share the same special bond that made this extraordinary attack possible.
Critical allies in standing up to aggression, most recently Putin’s evil war in Ukraine…..
And we’re still committed to making the world a more secure place.
Our bonds stretch back centuries; indeed, many British names and traditions bare the mark of the Norsemen and women who settled here many hundreds of years ago.
Even our royal families are related – and it is a pleasure and honour to welcome His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Haakon to London today and – actually – back to London. After all, His Royal Highness studied here in London.
I know that these ties will help us to continue working together as we speed up our transition to net zero…
And build a green and prosperous future for all.
Norway and Russia
We are also hugely grateful for what you are doing today.
Norwegian gas has been critically important in providing energy resilience to Europe this critical winter.
Including for Britain – where it accounts for about a third of our current gas consumption.
As we reflect on this year’s barbaric war in Ukraine, we have all been taught a valuable lesson.
Never again must we allow our country to be held to ransom on energy as Putin has done.
We must join together and utilise our flourishing renewables industries to defeat energy tyranny.
Renewables
Like Norway, we want to be smart about the way we think about our energy.
And smart with the way we use our extraordinary renewable resources and green tech leadership.
And as the UK works towards my goal of delivering the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe by the middle of the next decade..
…we can start to think about how best to nuture our energy industries for the long term.
And like your fantastically successful sovereign wealth fund, we want to think about how we ensure the benefits of renewables are fed back into the economy – for the good of all.
From offshore wind to carbon capture, utilisation and storage and to hydrogen..
We will support these vital technologies, ensuring that they work seamlessly across borders.
For example, our two countries need to work out the best use of the vast carbon storage capacity in the North Sea.
And we need to ask how best we can work with other countries to increase CO2 trading across boundaries……. as well as working together on hydrogen.
Indeed, I look forward signing after the speeches the expanded Memorandum of Understanding with Norway on Carbon capture and storage which will include closer collaboration on hydrogen.
Conclusion
Eighty years after that audacious Telemark raid we must join together and join forces once again…
I know that our shared vision and our shared history will help us meet our big 21st century challenges:
Energy security,
Sustainability
And affordability.
These three goals need to become a mantra engrained onto our collective psyche so we can make the rest of this century a success for both our countries, and for the rest of the world.