Sweden has approved two offshore wind farms while rejecting 11 others, ending what the country’s ministers called a prolonged period of uncertainty.
Sweden has given the green light to Fyrskeppet in the southern Bothnian Sea and Vidar in the northern Skagerrak. Together, the two projects could generate up to 19TWh of electricity per year.
The government blocked 11 offshore projects in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bothnian Sea, and Västerhavet. The ministers said the rejected projects were deemed to have an unacceptable impact on Sweden’s defence capabilities. However, offshore wind power is not permanently excluded from these areas.
The authorities stated that they would move away from the current open-door process toward an auction model for future offshore wind development.
Under the new system, the state will first identify suitable areas after weighing up competing interests such as defence, shipping, fishing, and the environment. Developers will then bid for the right to build. Stockholm said that this should create a more predictable market and reduce risk for investors.
The shift is likely to be watched closely by developers with Scandinavian ambitions, particularly after years of delays and uncertainty around permitting.
