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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Här dumpades schaktmassor från vindkraftbygget i Viksjö
[A thousand truckloads of excavation waste were unlawfully dumped in the forest in connection with the construction of the future wind farm in Viksjö, northwest of Härnösand. The company has previously been reported to the police and is now at risk of new police reports. (translate article to English)] SVT:s reporter Peter Nässén i området där vindkraftbolaget ertappats med att ha tippat stora mängder massor utan tillstånd. Tusen lastbilslass med schaktmassor dumpades otillåtet i skogen i samband med bygget av den . . . Complete story »
Vattenfall and Wallenstam cancel major offshore wind park plan in Sweden
Swedish utility Vattenfall and its partner Wallenstam have called off efforts to develop a joint offshore wind project in Sweden, Vattenfall said on Monday, after the country’s military rejected a revised plan for the development. The partners, through a joint company called Taggen Vindpark, already had a permit since 2012 to build a 300 megawatt (MW) park off the southern coast of Sweden, able to power just over 200,000 households. They sought, however, to change details of the permit in . . . Complete story »
Sweden to double wind energy production in next four years
Wind energy is set to double its share of Sweden’s power supply over the next four years as a string of giant projects come online. The contribution of wind energy is scheduled to grow from 17TWh in 2018 to 35 TWh in 2022, taking wind’s share from 12 percent to 25 percent of total power produced. Charlotte Unger, chief executive of the Swedish Wind Energy Association trade body said the pro-renewable policy decisions had been driving growth. “Sweden has the . . . Complete story »
‘Naive wind industry could destroy our way of life’
Clean power, green jobs, no emissions – the wind industry is used to being one of the good guys. But to Åsa Larsson-Blind, president of the Sami Council, it’s just the latest – and potentially most deadly – industrial threat to a fragile, ancient culture focused around reindeer herding up towards the Arctic Circle. “The wind industry often says it wants to have a dialogue,” Larsson-Blind told Recharge. “But I believe it thinks it is easier to accommodate than it . . . Complete story »
Conflicting views on wind farm testing in northern Sweden
According to the power company Skellefteå Kraft, the wind farm will strengthen Arjeplog’s reputation as a cold-climate test area. According to the local property owners, the field will bring an uglier scenery and disturbing light conditions and noise to the area. The result will be increased disturbance to reindeer herding, says the reindeer herders’ Maskaure Sámi Village. Skellefteå Kraft AB has applied for changes in the licence the company has for its wind farm on Uljabuouda Fell. At present, the . . . Complete story »
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 »
