Sweden presents three new offshore wind zones
Sweden has presented plans to eventually build almost enough offshore wind capacity to cope with the country’s current electricity consumption.
On the other hand, the national association for wind power has demanded that the goal be higher. The current plans also do not take into account the potential for floating offshore wind, the association pointed out.
The government revealed zones in the Gulf of Bothnia (northeast of the country), the Baltic Sea (in the southeast) and the North Sea (west) to receive wind farms that can produce an initial 20-30TWh per year.
It then aims to expand capacity so that its offshore wind power fleet can produce 120TWh annually. It has not been stated what offshore wind capacity these electricity production figures refer to or when these goals will be achieved. But Svensk Vindenergi – the Swedish Wind Power Association – believes that this 120TWh target should be translated into approximately 27GW of offshore wind capacity.
Sweden’s current electricity consumption is about 140TWh a year, according to the government. However, this is expected to increase sharply in the coming years, as industry and transport are electrified and fossil fuels are phased out.
It is also still unclear how the project developers would be selected and when the government will clarify how and when it will take place.
The Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Maritime Administration shall submit reports on suitable areas to cope with the expansion to 120TWh / year in March 2023 and December 2024, respectively.
Sweden’s plans also require an investigation into how municipalities can benefit from offshore wind. They also provide other authorities such as the state network operator Svenska kraftnät and the Swedish Armed Forces for offshore wind. In the past, developers have abandoned plans for offshore wind farms due to objections from the country’s military.
Lina Kinning, who is responsible for offshore wind power at Svensk Vindenergi, welcomed the release of the plan, but said that the association had expected it to be more ambitious.
“The [fight against] Climate change means that the need for electricity is increasing rapidly. The proposed offshore plans do not provide space for all the electricity production required to meet that need, “she said.
Sweden should also plan to receive floating offshore wind in the coming years as the sector develops, Kinning added.
“It is important to take into account the technical development of wind power in the continued work of revising the sea plans. The plans have been based on the premise that it is only possible to build offshore wind power down to a depth of 40 meters, but today it is possible to build bottom-fixed wind turbines down to a depth of at least 60-70 meters. In addition, it has become a large market for floating wind turbines globally, and then the depth is not limiting in the same way, ”she said.
Sweden currently has 191MW of operational offshore wind capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data department for Windpower Monthly.
Developers including Ørsted and OX2 have recently revealed plans for large offshore wind power projects outside Sweden.