UW Press: Energy in the Nordic World

How did the Nordic countries get so far ahead when it comes to renewable energy?

Norway and Sweden are among the biggest consumers of energy per capita, yet the Nordic nations also lead the world in clean power production and have ambitious goals of decarbonizing their energy systems by 2050. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland vary drastically in geography and the availability of natural resources, but each consistently generates electricity from renewable sources at multiple times the average rate of other high-income countries.

Mogens Rüdiger and Anna Åberg present a concise and timely history of energy production, trade, and consumption in Norden, starting with a review of the regional energy mix—from wind, solar, tide and wave, geothermal, biomass, nuclear, coal, and gas sources. Brief chapters describe the diversity of Nordic energy markets, assess how far the green transition has come, and explore what comes next as global crises, domestic politics, and technological developments present novel challenges and opportunities. Energy infrastructures and economic activities, Rüdiger and Åberg argue, serve as unique cultural focal points in the region. The coauthors summarize the national policy frameworks for the sector as well as the key energy and economic indicators used in infrastructure planning, regulation, and the opening of the electricity and gas markets to free competition.

Energy in the Nordic World is the essential primer to the power markets at the heart of Europe’s energy transition.

Mogens Rüdiger is an associate professor in the department of politics and society at Aalborg University. He has published extensively on various aspects of energy history.

Anna Åberg is a historian of technology and a researcher in technology management and economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. Her work focuses on energy and resource history and on science and technology in popular culture.