The village of Oftedal had its own power plant in Heieåne earlier, from 1944 to 1972. From the 1950s, the landowners became aware that they had a resource that could be developed further. Many partners and alternatives were considered before more serious negotiations took place in 2003. This was resolved in November 2003 through a contract with Småkraft, which assumed the risk, the work with the licensing process and the development itself.
Excavators arrived in September 2005, and in December 2006, the first power plant was ready to deliver its contribution in the form of new, renewable energy and local business revenues. Another power plant further down followed suit after a few months.
