Wind Power News: Sweden
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Cable fault shuts down Vattenfall offshore project
SWEDEN: Vattenfall’s 110MW Lillgrund offshore wind farm in has been offline since Tuesday as a result of a cable fault. The company said it had launched an investigation into the causes of the failure. Cameras are being sent in remotely to investigate the cause, but the project is not expected to be back online this week. Lillgrund is located in Öresund, the strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is Sweden’s largest offshore wind farm and came online in December 2007. . . .
Norway’s consumers may end up subsidising renewables in Sweden
Norwegian taxpayers could end up subsidising the construction of renewable power generation in neighbouring Sweden because investment under a joint subsidy scheme is cheaper on the other side of the border. Norway, with a lengthy coastline exposed to Atlantic gales, is ideal for wind turbines. But taxes and financial rules still make it cheaper to take Norwegian subsidies and carry them across the border to Sweden. The two countries launched a common market to trade renewable energy certificates with the . . .
EON plans hundreds of megawatts of wind power in Norway, Sweden
EON SE plans to build hundreds of megawatts of wind power in Norway and Sweden, where costs for developers are lower than other European countries. Germany’s biggest utility has proposals for nine onshore farms in Norway totaling 1,500 megawatts as the country’s low population density and strong winds allow larger and cheaper projects than in Germany or Poland, EON’s Mark Porter said. “Norway has a huge untapped potential,” said Porter, the northern Europe onshore wind power director. “It’s a new . . .
Sweden won’t heed industry call for higher wind-power targets
Sweden will not respond to calls from wind-power developers to boost targets for alternative energy output, for fear of undermining investor confidence. “I know it is not always easy to be a wind-power entrepreneur, with low electricity certificate prices triggering calls for political intervention,” Anna-Karin Hatt, Swedish minister for information technology and energy, said today at a conference in Stockholm, according to an e-mailed copy of her speech. The Swedish Wind Energy Association wants the government to raise targets for . . .
Sweden-Norway power link project under review by partners
Svenska Kraftnat and Statnett SF, grid operators in Sweden and Norway, are reviewing the need for an oft-delayed 1,400-megawatt power cable that was planned to boost connections between Oslo and Stockholm. The cable, proposed in 2008, was originally due to be brought into service as early as 2012. It has since suffered several delays, with the project now up for review by both companies. “The cable was until recently planned for 2019 although Statnett have now said they’d like an . . .
Swedish offshore wind projects at risk; Network operator warns of electricity surplus
Rapid growth in the number of proposed wind farms in Sweden threatens to produce a significant over-supply in electricity, warns the state-owned operator of Sweden’s electricity grid, Svenska Kraftnät. Unless the Swedish government chooses to incentivise the construction of new offshore wind capacity, the majority of offshore projects that have been granted development concessions and that have successfully navigated some of the permitting process risk being abandoned. Sweden currently boasts just 160MW of offshore wind capacity. Its largest energy company, . . .
World Heritage status at stake on Öland
The planned wind turbines in southern Öland may cause the area to lose its World Heritage status. The warning comes from the Swedish Department of ICOMOS, which is the UN organization UNESCO expert bodies, reports Ölandsbladet. World Heritage area Southern Öland comprises over 56,000 hectares. There are now plans for several wind turbines of the larger battle. “To claim that they do not involve substantial damage to the cultural values that constitute the World Heritage site should be near impossible,” . . .
Futile investment in wind power
[translation by G.L., with the help of Google Translate, of Meningslös satsning på vindkraft] The giant multi-billion bet on wind power development in Sweden is excessive. The money should instead be used to reduce fossil fuel use in transport. 80% of the energy supply and 70% of electricity in the world comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). In recent decades, interest in renewable energy sources has increased partly due to high extraction costs of fossil fuel and . . .
Meningslös satsning på vindkraft
[Futile investment in wind power — The fact that a huge expansion of wind power is implemented in a country like Sweden, which already has a successful and fossil-free electricity system is incomprehensible. The money should instead be on reducing emissions in the transport sector, writes the Royal Academy of Sciences Energy Committee.] Att en gigantisk vindkraftsutbyggnad genomförs i ett land som Sverige, som redan har ett väl fungerande och fossilfritt elsystem, är obegripligt. Pengarna borde i stället läggas på . . .
Wind power stations meet resistance
The gradual expansion of wind power is seen as vital for future energy supply. But it also meets resistance. According to the state-owned power giant Vattenfall, wind turbines being built in the forest must be even higher than today in order to become profitable. ”But it would be a disaster for those living nearby,” says Elisabeth von Brömsen, who is chairman of the Confederation of Swedish landscape protection. “It’s unacceptable already as it is now, and if we will have . . .
