The Swedish government today announced the granting of permissions for the construction of two offshore wind projects along the west coast of the country.
The permits concern the 1.2-GW Kattegatt Syd project of Swedish utility Vattenfall AB and part of the 1.7-GW Galatea-Galene project of Swedish renewables developer OX2 AB (STO:OX2). More specifically, the green light is for the northern part of the Galatea-Galene project with a potential capacity of 400 MW.
Together, the approved developments represent more than 100 turbines and are expected to generate up to 6.5 TWh of electricity per year, corresponding to the power use of about one million households. The government noted they will deliver power in southwestern Sweden, where the need for more fossil-free electricity is the greatest.
“We are now creating conditions for electricity production, which is awaited by companies in southern and western Sweden, so they can switch from fossil to fossil-free production,” said Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari.
The applications for the two wind farms have been processed by the County Administrative Board of Halland, which has also issued Natura 2000 permits for the projects.
According to an earlier announcement by OX2, the Swedish Armed Forces had no objections to the northern part of the Galatea-Galene wind farm, while the dialogue continued for the southern area.
OX2 is also developing the 1.7-GW Triton and 5.5-GW Aurora offshore wind projects in Sweden that are awaiting government decision. Together with Galatea-Galene, they make up a portfolio, of which OX2 sold 49% to Ingka Investments last year. Under the deal, OX2 will receive about SEK 1 million (USD 96,000/EUR 89,000) per MW for the 49% of the overall capacity once all permits are in place and the parties have decided to proceed with the projects.
“We look forward to a constructive discussion on how the projects can be realized in the fastest and most cost-efficient way to secure that Sweden can have a considerable addition of emissions-free electricity by 2029,” commented OX2 chief executive Paul Stormoen.
OX2 just recently agreed to sell a 49% stake to Ingka Investments in its portfolio of three offshore wind projects in Finland with a total potential capacity of 6 GW.
(SEK 1 = USD 0.096/EUR 0.089)
