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.
Grid operator warns wind will not fill Sweden’s nuclear gap in winter
Sweden will have to import more electricity during winter as the country, a net power exporter to the rest of Europe, shifts from nuclear to wind, its grid operator said. Last winter, the first since the closure of its Oskarshamn 1 reactor, stretched Sweden’s resources as peak consumption rose by 800 megawatt (MW), triggering start-up procedures in its reserve energy plants. Sweden’s power balance will deteriorate further from next winter, the country will need imports and the situation will become . . . Complete story »
Statkraft may scrap two Swedish wind projects as turbine height limited
Norwegian utility company Statkraft may cancel plans to build one onshore wind farm in Sweden and scrap plans to upgrade another after a local court rejected its request to build taller turbines, the firm said on Tuesday. In May, Sweden’s Land and Environmental Court of Appeal denied Statkraft licenses to extend the height of two of its wind farm projects, which had aimed to add 59 turbines of up to 250 megawatt (MW) combined capacity. “The two (projects) that had . . . Complete story »
In Sweden, wind farms and warplanes battle for airspace
Several wind farm projects in Sweden are under threat due to the government’s decision to reserve more airspace for its armed forces, according to two companies and an industry lobby group. In November, the government said its air force had labeled more airspace as low-flying zones in order to protect its operations from the expanding wind power industry. The move, to avoid planes colliding with wind turbines, has created uncertainty for a number of planned wind farms. Sweden’s largest utility, . . . Complete story »
Boom collapse at Swedish windfarm
The boom of a 750 tonne truck crane collapsed yesterday while lifting the nacelle of a wind turbine in Sweden. The crane a Liebherr LG1750 – which appears to be owned by Polish company Viatron – was working at the Solberg windfarm in Västerbotten to the south of Åsele in central Sweden. It had just started to lift a large Vestas turbine when the boom went over the rear of the crane. Reports claim that the turbine was only a . . . Complete story »
Bats massacred by wind turbines may get reprieve in Sweden
Halting Swedish wind turbines at still summer nights would save almost all of the tens of thousands of bats killed by the rotating blades every year. Every turbine kills 10-15 bats annually on average as the creatures are struck when they hunt insects attracted by the spinning unit, according to a study by Sweden’s Energy and Environmental Protection agencies. Halting turbines on summer nights when winds are low would save most of the bats without a significant loss in renewable . . . Complete story »
Bolt fatigue blamed for collapse of Vestas 3MW turbine in Sweden
Sweden’s Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) has blamed fatigue in bolts on the tower of a Vestas V112-3.0MW turbine that collapsed in late 2015, highlighting inadequate assembly. The turbine collapse at the 98MW Lemnhult wind farm south of the town of Vetlanda in Jönköpig county on Christmas Eve 2015 was the first such incident involving one of Vestas’ MW-class machines. The SHK in a summary of its investigation said bolts that had held together the flange between the first and second . . . Complete story »
Bolts blamed for V112 collapse; Swedish probe followed Christmas 2015 failure at Lemnhult
Swedish officials have pointed to incorrect bolt installation as the root cause of a Vestas turbine collapse at the Lemnhult wind farm in late 2015. Government accident investigation authority SHK said the three-year-old V112 which failed on 24 December showed clear signs of fatigue and corrosion at the join between the bottom and second section of the tower. “The bolts that had held together the joint had suffered from a fatigue process and the bolts could no longer withstand the . . . Complete story »
Google, Ikea’s Nordic wind crush comes too soon for Sweden
The quest to supply everything from data server halls, insurance companies to large furniture stores with green electricity has flooded the Nordic region with wind power and crashed a $100 million renewable-certificates market. While that’s good for the environment and the image of companies from Google Inc. to Ikea Group, the growth in renewable energy has been faster than Sweden and Norway expected. That’s pushed certificate prices down 45 percent this year, undermining the incentive to invest in new wind . . . Complete story »
Swedish wind power expansion on the wane
The expansion of wind power in Sweden appears to have caught its breath, with wind farm construction in 2016 at its lowest level for six years. The total power of new turbines built last year amounted to 605 megawatts (MW), a significant reduction compared to outputs of between 700 and 900MW in preceding years. The slowdown in expansion is not unexpcted according to Sweden’s Energy Authority (Energimyndigheten) – the last few years have seen the production of renewable electricity, including . . . Complete story »
Sweden denies permit for $7.4B offshore wind farm because the project would interfere with its military
Sweden denied permission for developers to build the Blekinge offshore wind project, saying it would interfere with the Nordic nation’s army. The project was planned to have 500 to 700 turbines. This would have resulted an installed capacity of about 2.5 gigawatts and investment valued at 50 billion kronor (CAD$7.4 billion), according to an e-mail from majority owner Eolus Vind AB. The project company, Blekinge Offshore AB, is owned by Swedish developers. Hassleholm-based Eolus has 56 per cent, Vingkraft AB . . . Complete story »
