Norway's Prequalified Battery Capacity Stuck at 13.2 MW as Ministry Orders Licensing Review

Norway had 13.2 MW of battery capacity prequalified for fast frequency reserve (FFR) and 2 MW each in the normal and disturbance frequency containment reserves, FCR-N and FCR-D, as of June 1, 2025. Neighbouring Sweden has more than 600 MW prequalified for FCR.

The gap sits alongside a regulatory review now under way. Norway's Ministry of Energy has instructed NVE to examine the purpose and need for licensing battery installations, and to identify where the energy regulations require clarification, by October, according to ESS News and pv magazine.

Projects are moving despite the licensing question. Hitachi Energy is supplying a 4.9 MW/12.2 MWh system to regional utility group Ren Røros, described as Norway's largest industrial battery, with commissioning set for October. Ren Røros took an investment decision of around NOK 60 million (USD 6.4 million) on the project in February.

A second installation has cleared approval: a 12.2 MW/22.4 MWh battery attached to the 94.6 MW Måkaknuten onshore wind farm.

Prequalification is the gate between an installed battery and paid participation in frequency markets. FFR responds fastest, deployed to arrest frequency deviations in low-inertia hours; FCR-N corrects small continuous imbalances, while FCR-D activates on larger disturbances. Until a unit clears the technical tests for each product, its capacity earns nothing from those reserves, which is why prequalified megawatts rather than installed megawatts measure the addressable market. The Swedish figure of more than 600 MW in FCR indicates how much distance separates the two markets on that metric.

The licensing review carries direct commercial weight for developers deciding whether to add storage to existing generation sites. The Måkaknuten approval pairs 12.2 MW of battery power with a wind farm rated at 94.6 MW, a configuration that shifts output timing rather than adding generation. The Ren Røros unit, at 4.9 MW and 12.2 MWh, carries roughly two and a half hours of duration at full power, sized for industrial load management rather than bulk arbitrage. Both come online or reach approval in the same window as NVE's October deadline.