History
It all began in 1996 when Arne T. and Torleiv G. Bjørgum took a look at Samlet Plan to check the information about the watercourse they had rights to. They discovered that the watercourse here was considered interesting for potential development and quickly began mapping and starting a preliminary project. An exemption from Samlet Plan was applied for. This was granted in 1998. At this time, the landowners experienced a great deal of pressure from power companies who wanted to buy the fall rights, but they were not convinced that this was the right path. When the landowners became aware of Småkraft AS’s collaborative model, they contacted the company at the beginning of 2003. The contract was signed in Oslo in February 2003. Relieved, the landowners drove back over the mountains, certain that they had made a good decision for realising their dream of a power plant.
The road ahead was not entirely easy. At times, the project was met with significant political opposition, partly from the county governor’s environmental protection department, which regretted that an exemption from the licensing process had been granted. In the end, NVE cut through the red tape and gave Småkraft AS the go-ahead to begin work. The building process was quick and on 12 October 2004, there was an inauguration party at Bjørgum that included the presence of the Minister of Agriculture. Today, the Bjørgum power plant is a good example of moderate and gentle small-scale power plant development.
Operations
Bjørgum power plant has been in operation since 12 October 2004, when the then Minister of Agriculture, Lars Sponheim, pressed the green start button. Bjørgum is thus the facility that has been operated the longest among our small-scale power plants. This happens in a collaboration between Småkraft and the landowners, who enthusiastically contribute to the high quality operation of the power plant.
The most curious feature of the Bjørgum project is a beaver colony that collects wooden sticks at the intake every autumn and spring.
The turbine is a 6-jet Vertical Pelton, specially adapted to the water flow variations measured at Bjørgum throughout the year. The maximum discharge capacity is 1.9 m³/sec and it drives a 5490 kVA generator. All electricity is transformed up to 22 kV and delivered to the grid. The intake protrudes only 1 meter above ground level, along with a low overflow threshold that ensures flood diversion. The cast iron penstock is 900 mm in diameter, 1.2 km long, and is entirely buried. The power station building is constructed in accordance with Småkraft’s aesthetic guidelines. Natural stone, glass, and wood are used as design elements, and main internal solutions have been chosen to minimize building volume and provide lower construction costs even with good material choices.
