POWERHOUSE BRATTØRKAIA

“To keep 1.5 alive and prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis, the world
must act in this decade,” he said. “The good news is that the lifeline is right in front of us. Transforming energy systems is low-hanging fruit.”

United Nations chief Antуnio Guterres

Powerhouse Brattørkaia states its purpose with conviction. Good design maximises its capacity to generate solar power in a climate that would seem to make this an all but impossible challenge. It smoothly combines this incredible capacity with superb architecture, fulfilling all the functions of a modern office building. The eight-story office building in Trondheim, Norway generates 485,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. Powerhouse Brattørkaia is, in effect, a small power plant that will supply excess electricity to Norway’s publicly owned grid. It does this in climate where average sunshine per day is just 2.5 hours, or 1011 hour annually, and an average 168 sunny days per year. Compare this to Perth, Western Australia with 8.8 hours of sunshine per day, or 3200 hour per year where the same building would generate 1,455,000 kilowatt hours annually.

A consortium in Oslo made up of architects, engineers, environmentalists, and designers is creating energy-positive buildings in a country with some of the coldest and darkest winters on Earth. “If you can make it in Norway, you can make it anywhere,” says Peter Bernhard, a consultant with Asplan Viak, one of the Powerhouse alliance members.

Bernhard says Powerhouse began in 2010 with a question: Is it possible to not only eliminate the carbon footprint of buildings, but to also use them as a climate-crisis solution? It was a lofty goal. According to the European Commission, buildings account for 40 percent of energy usage and 36 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions in the EU.