16 January 2023
Ørsted plans offshore wind farms expansion in Sweden
Ørsted currently has two offshore wind farms in Sweden, but are now planning to add four more farms. It is estimated that together, all farms will produce 18,000 MW of electricity, resulting in a yearly production of 82 TWh. The project not only establishes Ørsted in the Swedish market for years to come, but opens up new opportunities. For Sweden, the project allows a solution to the increasing electricity demand and lowers electricity prices. The energy company has not yet revealed the costs for the project, but based on branch estimates, it will cost about SEK 450 billion. Sebastian Hald Buhl, the Country Manager for Sweden and Norway at Ørsted, said that the project can be finished in 10 years if there is effective cooperation from the Swedish authorities and government.
Ørsted is not the only energy company to have asked the Swedish Government to build wind farms, however Ørsted’s planned electricity production is higher than the production of all other projects combined. While the county board (Sw. Länsstyrelse) in Skåne has approved the project, the Swedish Armed Forces (Sw. Försvarsmakten) has opposed the project. Ørsted hopes the Government will approve the project, despite the opposition. In the past, opposition from local authorities, Swedish Armed Forces and ineffective licensing has prevented the development of wind farms in Sweden, even though Sweden has a long coastline and good wind conditions. Moreover, the taking away of subsidies for offshore wind power has led to uncertainty about whether investors want to invest in wind power. The Swedish Government has also been focused on developing nuclear energy. However, Buhl stressed that a robust energy system has many energy sources and that wind and nuclear power will complement each other.
Norway’s Climate Investment Fund invests NOK 600 million in Indian energy company SAEL
Several North Indian farmers harvest rice and wheat for their livelihood. In between the rice and wheat seasons, farmers have 1-2 weeks to clear their fields. For many farmers, the only way to clear the field is to burn crop residuals, which results in air pollution in the area. The Indian energy company SAEL now has developed a way to create energy from these crop residuals. Therefore, SAEL will buy these crop residuals from the farms, which incentivizes the farmers to not burn the field, but to manually collect the crop residuals.
The business model outlined above creates a win-win-win situation. The model will create additional income, reduced air pollution and increase green energy in India. Norfund, who manages the Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, will invest 600 million NOK in SAEL over the course of five years. The investment will produce 100 MW bioenergy, help cut 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 and provide income for 100, 000 farmers.
Ørsted plans to build a large-scale solar plant in Texas
Nature preservation and cooperation with local communities will be prioritised during the development of the plant. Specifically, efforts will be made to preserve the original prairie in Northeast Texas by donating the area around the plant to the environmental organisation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
Sweden: the EU’s largest energy exporter in 2022
According to Bloomberg, France’s extensive nuclear power outage last year drove Sweden to, for the first time, become the EU’s leading energy exporter. In 2022, Sweden supplied 33 terawatt hours (TWh) to other countries. Last year also saw the UK become a net exporter for the first time, joined by Spain and the Netherlands. At the same time, France’s problems with nuclear power made it the second largest importer of energy. Moreover, electricity exported by Sweden in 2022 was worth over SEK 30 billion, and at the same time, the export reduced emissions of carbon dioxide in Europe considerably. Most exports went to Finland, although Sweden exported to all its neighbouring countries, and part of the electricity sold to the Nordics was in practice passed on to the Baltics, Germany and the UK.
Swedish startup Heart Aerospace says Europe needs to incentivise the decarbonization of the airline industry
The Swedish Startup Heart Aerospace is developing a hybrid aircraft by 2028. The aircraft will not only be more sustainable, but quieter and have less maintenance and ownership costs. While sustainable aviation is being prioritised in the US due to big subsidies for green technology, Heart Aerospace is waiting for the European response. Specifically, the startup is looking at Denmark and Iceland as potential markets to expand to, because of the established renewable energy markets and relatively short flights.
Swedish Government invests in research on electric aviation
The Swedish Government is granting the Swedish Transport Administration (Sw. Trafikverket) SEK 15 million per year to invest into research on electric aviation in hopes to bring electric aircrafts quicker to the Swedish market. The Swedish Transport Administration will not only test new technology and solutions, but also investigate how electrical aircrafts will integrate to the current air traffic.
Ocean energy developer Minesto reaches commercial milestone
Minesto has been contracted by a major Asian offshore energy corporation to support evaluation of a site for a Dragon Class tidal energy power plant. Minesto will complete the work by the end of 1Q23 and values it at EUR 35,000. Proper site identification and development is crucial for the success of Minesto’s Deep Green technology. Therefore, aiding third party developers of the technology, like the Asian corporation, in this step is vital. These collaborations also provide Minesto insight into large energy infrastructure projects and marine operations.
What we're reading
- Half of green claims used to sell products in EU are misleading, Brussels finds (Financial Times)
About Nordic Green News
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.
Powered by Notified