It is expensive for Hordaland to be the pioneer of electric ferries. Each year they spend 600 million on maintaining the service.
Hordaland Municipality have decided that all of their 17 county ferries will be operated electrically by 2020. But it costs to be a pioneer. Every year, the municipality has to spend 600 million kroner in annual grants. That is double the subsidies for the old diesel ferries, reported Klassekampen newspaper.
The biggest reason for the price increase is the cost of building the ferries. Additionally, new equipment must be installed at the docks. The price tag is 420 million kroner.
County Product Manager, Pål Kårbø of the Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF), acknowledges that it is costly, but believes the environmental gains make it worthwhile.
‘The environmental results after the conversion have been even better than expected when we decided to invest in low emission transport. It appears that it was right for us to be visionary, and not just think of costs,’ he said.
Kårbø believes it’s important that the electrification of the ferries in the country doesn’t stop due to costs, and hopes the state can help. The Minister of Transport, Ketil Solvik-Olsen of Fremskrittsparti (Frp) said that he has no additional subsidies to offer counties who choose to invest in environmentally friendly transport.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
