Wind power in Sweden
Encyclopedia
Sweden
consumes about 150 terawatt hours of electricity per year, of which about 3 TW·h is generated from domestic wind power
resources. Several times as much is imported from Denmark
, which generates a considerable amount of surplus wind power
.
Two large projects are under development, which could dramatically increase wind power in Sweden.
Swedish package and paper products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget
and Norwegian power company Statkraft
will invest 16 billion kronor
(€1.73 billion; US$2.4 billion) in a project which will consist of around 400 wind turbine
s in seven wind farm
s in Jämtland
and Västernorrland counties
. Statkraft will provide financing and SCA the land.
The Markbygden Wind Farm
will be a series of wind farms in Norrbotten County
. The project will be built by 2020, and will have a capacity of up to 4 GW.
If built out, the 55 billion kronor (€5.1 billion, US$6.9 billion) project will be the largest wind farm in Europe.
The wind farm will cover some 450 square kilometres, comprising about 1,100 wind turbines, and is expected to produce up to 12 TW·h of electricity per year (i.e. an average power of up to 1.4 GW).
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
consumes about 150 terawatt hours of electricity per year, of which about 3 TW·h is generated from domestic wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
resources. Several times as much is imported from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, which generates a considerable amount of surplus wind power
Wind power in Denmark
Wind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008, Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and...
.
Two large projects are under development, which could dramatically increase wind power in Sweden.
| Wind power in Sweden | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | MW | GWh |
| 2000 | 241 | 447 |
| 2001 | 295 | 482 |
| 2002 | 345 | 609 |
| 2003 | 404 | 679 |
| 2004 | 452 | 865 |
| 2005 | 493 | 936 |
| 2006 | 583 | 988 |
| 2007 | 832 | 1,430 |
| 2008 | 1,085 | 1,974 |
| 2009 | 1,448 | 2,489 |
| 2010 | 2,019 | ca. 3,500 |
Swedish package and paper products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget is a Swedish consumer goods company and pulp and paper manufacturer with headquarters in Stockholm. It has approximately 45,000 employees and a turnover of approximately SEK 107 billion...
and Norwegian power company Statkraft
Statkraft
Statkraft is a Norwegian state owned electricity company. With a total energy production of 44.9 TWh in 2007, the Statkraft Group is the third largest energy producer in the Nordic region, as well as the largest energy producer based on renewable energy sources in Europe,consisting of 40% of the...
will invest 16 billion kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
(€1.73 billion; US$2.4 billion) in a project which will consist of around 400 wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s in seven wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
s in Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
and Västernorrland counties
Counties of Sweden
The Counties of Sweden are the first level administrative and political subdivisions of Sweden. Sweden is divided into 21 counties. The counties were established in 1634 on Count Axel Oxenstierna's initiative, superseding the historical provinces of Sweden to introduce a modern administration...
. Statkraft will provide financing and SCA the land.
- "... the wind power venture would involve production of 2,800 gigawatt hours, or GWh, of wind power electricity a year, accounting for between two to three percent of Sweden's electricity production."
The Markbygden Wind Farm
Markbygden Wind Farm
Markbygden Wind Farm will be a series of interconnected wind farms in the Markbygden area west of Piteå, in northern Sweden. The project will be built by 2020, and will have a capacity of up to 4 gigawatts...
will be a series of wind farms in Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
. The project will be built by 2020, and will have a capacity of up to 4 GW.
If built out, the 55 billion kronor (€5.1 billion, US$6.9 billion) project will be the largest wind farm in Europe.
The wind farm will cover some 450 square kilometres, comprising about 1,100 wind turbines, and is expected to produce up to 12 TW·h of electricity per year (i.e. an average power of up to 1.4 GW).