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.
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
Swedish Sami win damages in wind farm battle
A company that operates wind farms in northern Sweden has agreed to compensate Sami people in the region for damage it caused to their village. The dispute between Statkraft SCA Vind AB (SSVAB), which runs wind farms in the northern Västernorrland and Jämtland regions, and Sami village Jijnjevaerie had been going on for several years, but an agreement has now been reached. The two parties chose not to reveal any economic details from the deal, which will regulate the actions . . .
Why Sweden says no to replacing nuclear power with wind
With generous government subsidies and a ‘green’ halo, wind power is enjoying a lot of financial windfalls. Meanwhile, since being gutted by the Clinton administration in 1993, nuclear energy has been blocked so that it is increasingly less viable. For that reason, activists thought Sweden would be a good target for their efforts, because they love to tout their lack of emissions. Yet the Swedes would end up with more emissions if they added wind, according to a new paper. . . .
Gone with the wind: Nordic alternative energy turns stagnant
Despite renewable energy sources being heavily hyped as a sustainable solution to humanity’s growing energy problem, actual support for the green power has been shrinking. Falling electricity prices and henceforth lower profitability have led a dramatic drop in investment in the Swedish wind energy sector. Last year, investments into Sweden’s wind power fell by a dramatic 40 percent, compared to the year before. Nevertheless, the total amount of investment over the next four years is estimated at approximately 21 billion krona (2.6 billion dollars), CEO of the . . .
Stop romanticizing Arctic development, say indigenous leaders
The installation of renewable energy like wind turbine farms is wreaking havoc across Sapmi, the traditional Saami homeland that stretches from Arctic Norway through Sweden and Finland and into northwestern Russia. In Sweden and in Norway these windfarms have destroyed traditional reindeer grazing lands and caused mental and financial issues for the Saami that rely on the animals to make a living. Even today, companies like Fred. Olsen Renewables are planning 72 wind turbines in important grazing and calving lands for the Norwegian reindeer herding districts of Åarjel-Njaarke and Voengelh Njaarke. Despite Saami opposition, the project has been approved by authorities.
