In Bremanger municipality in Western Norway, an ammonia factory is planned on the other side of the fjord from where Bjørn and Silje live. The parents of young children are concerned about the environment and safety. Source: Nettavisen, Ståle Martin Dyrstad (private)
“We can’t continue living here,” says Silje Dyrstad.
She is the 13th generation on the farm in Bremanger, but is now considering moving away from the farm and out of the municipality with her husband Bjørn Dyregrov Haukeland and their children.
We want to be here. We want our children to grow up here, but we don’t want them to grow up near an ammonia factory. It ruins everything we moved home for. I don’t know many families with young children who would have stayed here, honestly.
The plan to build a new house on the farm has been put on hold. For now, they live in a converted barn.
Constant light and noise
On the other side of the fjord at Holmaneset in Svelgen, around 900 meters from where the family lives, an Australian company is going to build a gigantic ammonia factory.
LARGE-SCALE PLANT: This is what the factory could look like, according to a press release from the Australian company Fortescue. Source: Nettavisen, Fortescue
The goal is to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia. The EU has sponsored the factory with over two billion kroner ($191 000 000) in support.
“There will be constant light and noise. It will be a nightmare for us,” Dyrstad fears. Both worked as teachers in the municipality, but in March they quit their jobs after the municipal council approved the zoning of the factory.
“We cannot continue to work for a municipality that knowingly and intentionally puts our family at risk.”
In 2023, news broke that the Australian company Fortescue would establish an ammonia factory in Bremanger with planned production start-up in 2027. A plan proposal has been adopted by Bremanger municipality.
Fortescue says that over time they improved the project plans in consultation with authorities and the local population.
Affects our existence
The family with young children fears for their safety and misses clearer information from the municipality about what safety will be like.
“If the alarm goes off, do we have to evacuate? The road stops out here. There have been several landslides, what do we do if the road is closed and the alarm goes off?” Silje Dyrstad wonders.
“We are in the immediate vicinity. Should a large spill occur, we have limited time to get ourselves and the children away. It affects our entire existence,” her husband Bjørn Haukeland tells Nettavisen.
Professor Odne Stokke Burheim at NTNU’s Department of Energy and Process Engineering says that producing ammonia from hydrogen is a well-established industrial process with good safety procedures. It is the fire hazard and emissions that are of most concern.
Doesn’t want to create a farm idyll
Haukeland says that the factory also stands in the way of the family’s dreams.
“It’s about daily well-being and safety, but also about future development opportunities for the small farm.”
The small farm is not in operation today, but Bjørn Haukeland says that they have several dreams about what they could do on the farm if the ammonia factory project is shut down.
The family wants to run a tourism business, have small animals on the farm and build a bathhouse. “But with a view of an ammonia factory, you can only say good luck with those dreams.”
Can’t you still do all this with an ammonia factory there?
No, we don’t think we have a market for it with an ammonia factory one kilometer away. What we want to offer is the opposite of what an ammonia factory represents, concludes Haukeland.
No alternative assessment made
The Dyrstad sisters have done everything they can to stop the factory. Petition campaigns have been signed. They have tried to complain to the EU. Together with other landowners in the area, they have hired a lawyer.
“We are saddened that the majority of local politicians and the municipal leadership care so little about those who already live here,” says Dyrstad.
The sisters are sending requests for information to the municipality in a hurry, and are hanging on to the local politicians’ answers like glue. They are particularly critical of the fact that no alternative assessments were carried out.
There has been very little willingness to look at other alternatives. There is no political will to have this factory elsewhere, says Silje Dyrstad.
It is disturbing that they are not doing a proper alternative assessment, says Sissel Dyrstad.
The sisters are keen to further develop the local community in Bremanger, but they believe an ammonia factory in Holmaneset is completely the wrong direction. Source: Nettavisen (private)
The Dyrstad family and Bjørn Haukeland are not the only ones sounding the alarm. Nettavisen has also been in contact with the People’s Action against the establishment of a hydrogen and ammonia factory.
They fear everything from the environmental consequences to the possibility of a major accident. According to the action, they have collected over 800 signatures against the factory.
Fearing serious consequences
Sissel Dyrstad, who is also a biologist, believes the factory will have serious consequences for the biodiversity in the area and questions the fact that the municipal council adopted the plans before a cost-benefit analysis had been carried out and other areas had been fully investigated.
On Holmaneset there is a forest that is 200–350 years old. According to the State Administrator, this is the only known occurrence of such an old pine forest on flat land at sea level in Vestland County. It is very valuable, says Dyrstad.
The factory will be located near the Tennøyene bird sanctuary.
The impact assessment shows that Tennøyane will be affected by the plans. We do not know the extent because, for example, they have not looked at the consequences of ammonia emissions. A development could not only have negative consequences for the seabirds, but also for the spawning ground, eelgrass and kelp forest in the area, the biologist believes.
The factory will have a power requirement of 2.628 TWh per year. This corresponds to almost four times the annual production from the Alta power plant. This is reported by both Utenfilter and NRK.
Dyrstad wonders how big the environmental gain will actually be when the factory requires so much electricity.
“Almost half of the energy will be lost in the form of hot wastewater as there is not enough area on Holmaneset to utilize the by-product. Is it sustainable to demolish nationally important natural assets and flush large amounts of green energy into the sea, for 35-70 jobs?” asks the biologist.
Fortescue’s justification for why the choice fell on Holmaneset
Fortescue considered a number of locations that could be suitable for establishing a plant for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia. When we first started looking at Norway, we conducted a study that looked at dozens of different locations along the coast. The suitability of the sites was based on a set of objective criteria:
- Land and the possibility of using them for industrial purposes
- Distance to other buildings
- Electricity price
- Access to electricity grid and power balance
- Access to port and shipping infrastructure
- Access to water and other infrastructure, such as proximity to the road network
- The municipality’s interest in business development
Finally, a prioritized list of suitable locations was made. Ålfoten was one of several areas in the North-West region on the list. However, it became clear that there would be challenges with Ålfoten, both technical and of a different nature - for example, the area was regulated for agriculture. Holmaneset ticked all the criteria and had a major advantage in that it was already regulated for industry. No other location had the combination of proximity to a transformer station, accessibility and regulatory status for industry. Fortescue chose Holmaneset because it was the most suitable location based on our criteria.
Working with possible solutions
Municipal Director Tom Joensen in Bremanger Municipality finds it unfortunate that Dyrstad is considering moving from the municipality. Bremanger needs more residents, not fewer, he believes. “It is always sad when someone no longer wants to work or live in Bremanger municipality. We would have liked to see them choose to stay,” Joensen writes in an email to Nettavisen.
Why were thorough alternative assessments not carried out?
“Fortescue has considered several locations along the coast before contacting Bremanger municipality. The company initially showed interest in Ålfoten, before they had made a closer assessment,” Joensen answers.
Must be located in the coastal zone
The municipality pointed to Holmaneset as a potential location as the area was already zoned for industry, he explains.
Why don’t you find a place for the factory that will be able to utilize the by-product, that will not destroy valuable forests, and that is not near a nature reserve?
No other suitable locations in the municipality for such a factory were considered. The reason for this is that there are very few areas in the municipality that have been opened up for industry. The majority of the municipality is an LNF area (agricultural, nature and recreational area). Such a factory must be located in the coastal zone due to shipping the final product, and there are generally great natural qualities in many places in the municipality, Joensen replies.
Fortescue’s project director Gabriela Celin writes in an email to Nettavisen through the communications department that they have worked to reduce the impact the project will have on the environment.
“A comprehensive environmental and social monitoring plan has been prepared to minimize the impact on the surroundings,” writes Celin. Among other things, it is planned to lay underground and marine cables for power supply instead of high-voltage pylons.
During the operating phase, the Australian company plans to monitor the impact the project will have on nature so that they can make adjustments.
Working on solutions for the by-product
She says that adjustments have been made through the planning process to limit the negative effects.
“The plan also includes requirements to safeguard parts of the forest on Holmaneset and the important habitats in the sea. Regarding the by-products from the factory, Fortescue is working on possible solutions for that part.”
When asked how Bremanger Municipality will ensure the safety of Silje Dyrstad and her family, the municipal director replied that they are concerned that everyone living in the municipality will have a safe and good everyday life.
Nettavisen asked for specific examples of how this was ensured, but the municipality did not contribute this to this article. They refer to the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) as the natural expert authority.
The company Fortescue emphasizes that they do not set limits for acceptable risk. They point out that there is an international framework of regulations and EU standards that form the basis, and that DSB has created Norwegian criteria according to. Fortescue will follow DSB’s guidelines.
The way forward
State Administrator Liv Signe Navarsete (former government minister for the Centre Party) has been critical of the consequences the factory will have for the pine forest. Joensen emphasizes that Navarsete has not filed an objection.
The Dyrstad sisters and Bjørn Haukeland want a state administrator to look into the matter.
The factory could also be stopped by the company Fortescue. They will make a final investment decision on the project, but their ambition is for Holmaneset to become Europe’s first large-scale plant for the production of green ammonia.
Source: Nettavisen (in Norwegian)