John Olav Tande

John Olav Tande is Senior Vice President for Research and Development (R&D) at Statnett, a position he has held since 2024. He previously served as Chief Scientist at SINTEF Energy Research, and throughout his long and influential scientific career he has made significant contributions to the development of offshore wind energy and the integration of renewable energy into power system operations. In 2019, he was recognized as a Mission Innovation Champion at the Ministerial Meeting in Canada.

He serves on the boards of the Norwegian research centre NorthWind, the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative (NETI), and Energi2050 – a national strategic body for research, development, demonstration, and market introduction across the energy sector, mandated by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy.

At Statnett, Tande has set a clear direction for the R&D department: delivering on the company’s strategic goals, developing projects with strong value potential, and ensuring effective implementation of results. The research portfolio, including collaborations with external partners, amounts to around 400 MEUR and covers areas such as operational optimization, grid technologies, sustainability, robustness, and preparedness.