Prize for power saving

Work on new lighting systems to reduce power consumption – in some cases by as much as 80 per cent from previous levels – has won Statoil a European award.

The European Commission praised the group’s land-based energy-saving efforts when the prize was presented at the annual GreenLight conference in Milan on 21 May.

Dedicated to cutting electricity use in commercial buildings across Europe, the GreenLight project counts Statoil as one of 14 Norwegian enterprises which have agreed to pursue this target.

The group began working actively in 1997 to reduce energy consumption in its offices, and joined the EU project – which aims to cut power use by 30 per cent – in 2000.

“We launched an energy-saving project at our Rotvoll research centre in Trondheim two-three years ago,” says Kjell Sirevåg, in charge of reducing power for lighting at Statoil facilities.

“This work began by looking at electricity-based solutions in our office buildings. We’ve achieved good results by replacing light fixtures at a number of premises.

“Energy consumption at Rotvoll has been cut by up to 80 per cent, while reductions elsewhere lie between 10-50 per cent.”

Mr Sirevåg is pleased at the recognition represented by the European award.