Energy use by sector

Electricity accounts for a large proportion of energy use in Norway. There is a large energy-intensive manufacturing sector, and electricity is widely used to heat buildings and water. However, Norway also uses large amounts of fossil fuels, particularly for transport and in construction and agricultural machinery.
Electricity accounts for a large proportion of energy use in Norway. There is a large energy-intensive manufacturing sector, and electricity is widely used to heat buildings and water. However, Norway also uses large amounts of fossil fuels, particularly for transport and in construction and agricultural machinery.
Manufacturing Service industries Households Transport Other sectors

In 2020, final energy consumption in Norway totalled 211 TWh. As the figure below shows, industry and mining and transport were the sectors that used most energy in 2020, followed by services and households. Other sectors such as construction, agriculture and fisheries accounted for only a small proportion of energy use. This pattern has not changed much since 1990, although total energy use has risen in this period.

Final energy consumption in Norway, excluding non-energy use, 2020

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Final energy consumption in Norway split by energy carrier. Total in 2020: 211 TWh. Source: Statistics Norway

The figure shows that electricity is the dominant energy carrier, followed by petroleum products. Electricity dominates energy use in manufacturing, the household sector and service industries, while petroleum products account for a large proportion of energy use in sectors that make heavy use of transport and machinery. District heating and natural gas account for only a small share of energy use, but this has been increasing in recent years. Consumption of district heating has risen, particularly in service industries and households, while there has been an increase in the use of gas in manufacturing industries and the transport sector. These energy carriers have been replacing fuel oil for heating and coal, coke and heavier petroleum products in industrial processes.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing accounts for a larger share of final energy consumption than any other sector. This sector includes a wide variety of industries with differing energy needs, but energy use in the sector as a whole generally reflects Norway’s extensive use of electricity.

In 2020, approximately 64 per cent of energy use in industry and mining was electricity. One reason for the high electricity share is that aluminium production, which is highly energy intensive, is almost exclusively electricity-based. Other energy sources, particularly gas, coal and coke, account for a larger share of energy use in the production of other metals, basic chemicals and cement. The pulp and paper industry relies heavily on electricity but also uses some biomass.

As a result of structural changes in the economy, the share of energy used by the manufacturing sector has dropped in later years. A number of energy-intensive companies and plants have closed, while there has been an increase in activity in other parts of the manufacturing sector. Together with the introduction of more energy-efficient production technology, this has given a reduction in energy use. At the same time, the value of production has increased, so that the Norwegian manufacturing sector produced more value per unit of energy today than in 1990.

The structural changes have also resulted in changes in the mix of energy carriers used. Production of aluminium and basic chemicals, which uses large amounts of electricity and gas, has risen, while pulp and paper production, which extensive heavy use of biofuel, and iron manufacturing, which uses large amounts of coal and coke, have declined. Today, electricity, district heating and natural gas all accounted for a larger share of energy use in manufacturing than in 1990, while the proportions of coal, coke and oil were lower. The proportions of biofuel and waste have remained unchanged.

Service industries

Service industries accounted for 16 % of final energy consumption in Norway in 2020. This sector mainly uses energy in buildings, for space heating, heating water, lighting and operating electrical equipment.

Households

Energy use in households totalled 46 TWh in 2020, or 24 % of final energy consumption. Patterns of energy use in the household and service sectors show many similarities. In both sectors, heating, lighting and electrical equipment account for a large proportion of overall energy use.

Transport

Energy use in the transport sector totalled 52 TWh in 2020, corresponding to 24 % of final energy consumption.

Other sectors

Energy use in other sectors – fishing, agriculture and forestry, and construction – totals 12 TWh or 5 per cent of final energy consumption. In all these sectors, a large proportion of energy is used for machinery, equipment and vessels that are not included in the transport sector. These run largely on fossil fuels, and petroleum products therefore make up a relatively large proportion of energy use in all three sectors.

Updated: 24.11.2023