A student report commissioned by Norway’s energy regulator, Reguleringsmyndigheten for energi (RME), says current rules create uncertainty for hybrid plants that combine hydropower and battery storage behind a single grid connection point, because the rules are built around a clear split between producers and consumers.
The report recommends that RME consider a new regulatory definition of “co-located energy storage,” along with adapted electricity trading license conditions for sites where production, storage and limited grid activity take place behind the same connection point. It also calls for a review of metering requirements to ensure accurate settlement without unreasonable costs for operators.
“Hybrid power plants provide increased flexibility and better use of the power system, but today’s rules are made for either producers or consumers,” said Torfinn Jonassen, head of section at RME. “When hydropower plants and batteries are connected, we must make sure the regulations keep up.”
The report identifies missing metering data behind the main meter as a key challenge, because it makes it difficult to distinguish energy produced by the hydropower plant from energy discharged by the battery. That affects settlement, taxes and levies, guarantees of origin and system operation, according to the report.
The researchers also point to difficulties in prequalifying assets connected to grids below 110 kV for reserve markets, which they say can weaken project economics and reduce use of the batteries’ flexibility. Producers told the authors that uncertainty over metering and tariffs is a significant barrier to investing in new hybrid plants.
RME has so far handled metering through individual exemptions. In February, it exempted Ewz Måkaknuten Vind from separate production metering for an 11.2 MW/22.4 MWh battery behind the wind farm’s existing metering point in Rogaland, after finding that separate metering would cost an estimated NOK 30 million ($3.2 million) to NOK 35 million. The report says a practice based on individual decisions gives poor predictability and calls for more general and clearer guidelines.
“Our task is to provide sufficient predictability and clear frameworks that do not stand in the way of solutions that benefit society,” said Jonassen.
RME’s summer students prepared the report, drawing on document analysis and meetings with Statnett, a grid company and several power producers. RME has not announced a consultation on the recommendations. In the Måkaknuten decision, it said it would evaluate the need for battery-related rule changes this year.
The first large hydro-battery projects are taking shape in Norway, where batteries are increasingly being paired with wind, hydropower, EV charging stations and data centers. Lyse Kraft and Hydro Energi plan to add a 33 MW battery at the Lysebotn 1 hydropower plant in Rogaland as a reference project for hybridized hydropower, according to Norwegian trade publication Energiteknikk.
Norway’s battery market remains small because hydropower supplies about 90% of its electricity and already provides most of its balancing. A 2025 report for RME put prequalified battery capacity at 13.2 MW for fast frequency reserve and 2 MW each for FCR-N and FCR-D as of June 1, 2025, compared with more than 600 MW prequalified for FCR in Sweden.
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