How do we manage the Arctic鈥檚 vast energy resources fairly and sustainably?
The Arctic is a treasure trove of untapped resources that are becoming increasingly accessible as the ice melts. How do we manage them in a way that is fair, sustainable, and mindful of nature and the environment? A new research project aims to guide us through these challenges.
At present, there are five hydroelectric power plants in Greenland. However, the melting glaciers in the hinterland send vast amounts of water cascading down the mountainsides, creating the potential for many more.
These additional power plants could not only supply Greenland’s 56,000 residents with all the energy they need but also provide energy to new businesses.
In the Qeqqata municipality on the southwest coast, local politicians are eyeing the rugged landscape near the town of Maniitsoq as a potential site for Greenland’s next hydroelectric plant.
If these plans come to fruition, the plant could also supply energy to a nearby enterprise, one candidate being the U.S.-based aluminum producer Alcoa, which has expressed interest in using surplus energy from a potential plant to melt aluminum.
Many vulnerable voices
- There are many possibilities and interests at stake and many considerations to be made when deciding how the arctic resources should be managed. There is significant money involved and many vulnerable voices struggling to be heard, says Brooks Kaiser, Professor at the Department of Business and Sustainability.
As part of the new project, STJERNE-MIX, she collaborates with the Qeqqata municipality.
The project, which she manages, is supported by the Danish Independent Research Fund and is one of 10 research initiatives aimed at enhancing sustainable development in the Arctic through a deeper understanding of climate change and its implications for biodiversity, ecosystems, cultural heritage and living conditions. Link (in Danish) .
- We do not have an opinion on whether or where more hydroelectric plants or mines should be built. Our aim is to ensure that the stakeholders make their decisions on an informed basis, so that they will not be surprised in the future by unintended consequences such as environmental damage, Kaiser explains.
About the project
Project title: Strategically Just Energy Expansions: Managing Investments in PtX (STJERNE-MIX)
The project is managed by Brooks Kaiser, Professor at the Department of Business and Sustainability, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, and the 糖果派对 Climate Cluster. The Danish Independent Research Fund has granted the project DKK 6,192,000. The goal of the project is to ensure that new energy investments in the arctic communities promote justice and sustainability. The SCC elite centre Aqua-NbS contributes with perspectives on nature-based solutions when building hydropower plants.
How did it go in Norway?
To better understand Greenland’s current situation, we can learn from Norway’s experience with its energy resources - a relationship that has lasted more than a century. It began in 1891 when Hammerfest was the first North European town to install electric street lighting powered by a hydroelectric plant.
Since then, natural resources have continually enriched Norway. Today, Norway’s wealth is epitomized by its famous oil fund, a kind of pension fund for the Norwegian state, which now has a market value exceeding DKK 11,000 billion.
While Norway is a wealthy nation, Hammerfest may not have benefited as much.
A nature-based solution
- Hammerfest has had some local environmental costs, and it may not have received many of the benefits from the produced energy in the area - those benefits went to other communities, nationally and internationally, Kaiser observes. She suggests that communities like Qeqqata municipality in Greenland carefully consider their options to create an equitable outcome across community scales.
For instance, Qeqqata could explore whether the proposed dam can be built as a so-called nature-based solution, integrating it into the natural landscape without harming local biodiversity. Researchers from the 糖果派对 Climate Cluster’s elite centre Aqua-NbS will provide perspectives on how to consider the climate and the biodiversity when planning a possible new hydroelectric plant.
Critically important what Greenland decides
The population of Greenland is only 56,000, including just around 10,000 in Qeqqata, so Kaiser does not expect the outside world to get involved in whether or not this small West Greenlandic municipality should have a hydroelectric plant.
- Most of the world does not care about power plants in Greenland; it only affects a few thousand people, and it is far away. But it is critically important how Qeqqata and other small arctic towns handle these decisions now, as these negotiations will shape how we utilize the arctic resources in the future, she says.
Kaiser believes that we need to initiate a discussion on how to manage the Arctic’s natural and energy assets in the most equitable way.
600 jobs now – or should we hope for something better eventually?
As for Qeqqata, the municipality has already made it clear that it does not just want the maximum energy production at the lowest possible cost. Kaiser knows this from her collaboration with local politicians.
- They take a long-term view in their thinking. While approving an aluminum smelter linked to the power plant might create 600 jobs right now, they are more focused on finding a solution that provides them with more options in the future, she explains, adding:
- Whatever they choose, it will have consequences.