The Government wants more offshore wind power

The government must investigate how projects and permits for offshore wind power can be expedited, says Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L).

-This government wants to see more offshore wind power, says Pourmokhtari at a press conference.

The investigation will be formally launched at the government meeting tomorrow Thursday ( May 4) and proposals will be delivered in just over a year, in July 2024.

It has been ten years since an offshore wind farm was last commissioned in Sweden. There are about ten projects that are planned and have reached different stages on the way to getting final permission. However, it may take until the end of the 2020s before any of them are put into use, despite the great need for new energy.

“It’s too slow”

When asked when the next wind power project can conceivably deliver electricity, Romina Pourmokhtari generally answers that the processes are too long, it is too slow from project proposal to operation.

-What I can give notice about now is that the government makes sure to make all decisions that go in the direction of more offshore wind power.

The investigation will study whether there are things that other countries do that Sweden can imitate, for example Denmark and Germany. But it’s not just copying.

-But there is a potential, it’s too slow (in Sweden), says Pourmokhtari.

Environment and defence

The investigation will make proposals that make the processes for permits for offshore wind farms smoother. Among other things, a proposal to give companies exclusive rights at an early stage is to be investigated. Today, application processes are often lengthy and costly, partly as a result of several companies applying for the same site, and due to environmental and defense interests.

The investigation must also propose an instruction system. In Denmark, the state can identify an area in the sea that can be used for wind turbines, an arrangement that the minister views positively.

A unified law must also be drawn up for the tests for underwater cables and the establishment of the park itself. Today, the permits are tested according to two separate laws.

The processing of already planned projects should not be paused while waiting for new rules, according to Romina Pourmokhtari. Nor should they be affected by new rules, according to her.

More parks in the works

The government also, at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, tasked Sweden’s Geological Survey (SGU) with preparing applications for permits to lay underwater cables for two planned offshore wind projects in the southern Baltic Sea, called Södra Victoria and Aurora. That assignment must be completed by January 15 next year.

At the same time, the county administrations in Gävleborg and Västra Götaland will be tasked with preparing wind power projects outside Hudiksvall and in Uddevalla, respectively.

The new assignments should be interpreted as the government making “a positive basic assessment” of establishment in these locations, according to the climate minister.

The Sweden Democrats have repeatedly objected to the expansion of more wind power. Pourmokhtari refers to the Tidö Agreement, which states that wind power has an important place in Sweden’s energy mix.

-I think it is important to think about the situation Sweden is in. You owe the answer to Swedish households with high electricity bills and an industry that wants much more clean energy production, she says.