Facts: Project on the government’s table
Offshore wind power projects on the government’s table:
Southern Victoria. Location: Southeast of Öland. Applicant company: RWE. Planned electricity production: 6–8 TWh per year.
Kattegat South. Location: west of Falkenberg. Company: Vattenfall. Electricity production: 5 TWh.
Skåne Offshore Wind Park. Location: south of Ystad. Company: Ørsted. Electricity production: 6–7 TWh.
Galatea-Galene. Location: west of Varberg and Falkenberg. Company: OX2. Electricity production: 6-7 TWh.
Triton. Location: south of Ystad. Company: OX2. Electricity production: 7.5 TWh.
Aurora. Location: south of Gotland, east of Öland. Company: OX2. Electricity production: 24 TWh.
Source: Swedish wind energy, Vattenfall
The project with the large wind farm out in the sea three miles south of Trelleborg was already started in 2002.
Twenty years later, in 2022, the then S government gave a building permit for the park. But then there was still a lack of permission from the government for the company to lay cables along the seabed to connect the park to the main grid.
Now Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari announces that the government is giving the green light for the underwater cables. The decision will be taken during a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
— Now we are happy to be able to make this decision. It is an important step that Krieger’s flak can be started in the southern Baltic Sea, she tells TT.
The park includes 35-50 wind turbines that will be 280 meters high instead of 170 meters, according to Vattenfall. The state-owned company estimates that the park, if everything goes as planned, can be put into operation in 2028.
No offshore wind power project has been commissioned in Sweden since 2013.
Shared by three countries
The ground on which Krieger’s plane rests is shared between the economic zone of Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Since 2015, the German wind turbine has been there. In the Danish zone, a wind farm was ready in the summer of 2021.
The Swedish part of the wind farm is estimated to be able to produce around 2.6 TWh per year – about a quarter of Forsmark 3. According to the company, this corresponds to electricity for around 500,000 homes.
“It’s a fantastic addition given the situation we’re in,” says Pourmokhtari.
The government’s permission for the cables comes with several conditions, such as that Vattenfall must take into account the marine environment and any archaeological remains on the seabed.
“It is still a complicated process, but now everything that is needed in terms of permits is in place for Vattenfall to be able to start the work,” says the Minister of Climate and Environment.
According to the minister, the reason why the project has been so tenacious is all the permits that are needed. The government is now reviewing how the permit process for different types of energy production can go faster.
The government removes support
At the same time, the government, in cooperation with the Sweden Democrats, has decided to drop support for the expansion of offshore wind power. The support meant that the wind power companies would receive help from Svenska kraftnät to pay for the cables to the main grid.
Pourmokhtari sees no risk that Vattenfall would back down on Krieger’s flatbed because of this.
— There is no indication that the demand for fossil-free electricity production will decrease, but quite the opposite.
She thinks that the same principle should prevail for wind power companies as for other types of energy, namely that they should be able to pay for their own operations.
Meanwhile, Pourmokhtari has up to seven other offshore wind projects on his table awaiting government approval.
TT: When can we hear about them?
– Just as we handled this case, we will do everything we can to handle them as quickly as possible. I really want to be clear about that.