The group works in many different areas to reduce the use of electricity and fossil fuels. Among these measures, we can mention the following:

• Transitioning from diesel aggregates on fleets to land flow – Power from land
• Hybrid fleets
• Floating solar cells
• Operating working boats using solar cells
• “Just on loan”

The various measures require technological development and a high level of expertise, and in many ways they represent a breakthrough in the industry.

POWER FROM LAND

Power from land usually makes good overall economic sense. Power from land results in:

• Reduced emissions
• Less noise
• Good economy
• Less maintenance

The further development of power from land should entail a degree of overcapacity, thus enabling any future electrified boats to be recharged.

More than 50% of our sites now run on power from land – a figure that will increase in the coming years.

HYBRID FLEETS

This solution is best suited to new projects and it works very well at sites where it is difficult to obtain power from land. It can reduce the run time on generators significantly – by about 50%.

The generators run at higher power when in operation, but for shorter periods.

• Reduction in total energy consumption (although the generators also charge batteries when they are running)
• Reduced emissions
• Reduced noise levels
• Reduction in the number of hours generators operate
• Reduced maintenance
• Batteries in separate locations 

OCEAN SUN – FLOATING SOLAR CELLS

At one of our sites in the south, we have a project that uses floating solar cells in the sea, with the aim of generating enough electricity for the site. This will allow us to stop using diesel generators for prolonged periods every day. An array of solar cells is mounted on a 160 m floating cage. To date, the project has produced very promising results.

WORKING BOATS

In the farming division, we are working on various projects investigating how we can work to reduce the emissions from our working boats. So far we have seen numerous expensive solutions with only moderate environmental benefits, but we are looking closely and carefully in order to find a good solution in this field.

We do not currently have any working boats that run on clean electrical or hybrid power, either in operation or in construction. Early solutions in the market have been found to be expensive and not good enough.

We have been working closely with system integrators throughout the year to establish a hybrid propulsion plant which we believe will be reliable and not too expensive. Once we have this in place, we will initiate a pilot project and build a working boat based on this concept. The cost and the properties of the boat will be decisive for future efforts in this area.

Fishfarming nets

Lerøy is recycling our fishfarming nets: In 2017 Lerøy recycled 633 593 kg Fish farming nets. 

Environmental benefits:

• Decrease in non-renewable resources in about 1 077 108 kg oil eq
• Decrease in carbon footprint is about 2 280 935 kg co2 eq
• The reduction of climate gasses equals 20 549 plane passenger going from Oslo to London