28 October 2022

Sweden’s Government announces electricity price subsidy valued at SEK 55 billion

A subsidy package for high electricity prices in southern Sweden was presented by the Government yesterday. The package is a response to a request from the state-owned power distribution company Svenska kraftnät to support electricity users while energy prices are high. There have been significant price hikes in southern Sweden in recent months in particular. For this reason, financial support will be paid out to homeowners in price zones 3 and 4 but not zones 1 and 2. A total amount of SEK 55 billion will be distributed to five million customers, including both households and companies. The compensation model is retroactive, so consumers will be compensated for electricity consumed between September 2021 and October 2022. The money will be paid out in a lump sum to consumers and is expected to help them through the winter. It does not cover the electricity prices for the coming months.
Press release, SVT Nyheter, Aftonbladet, Sveriges Radio

Swedish Government presents its first budget proposals on fuel and transport

The new Swedish Government has announced its first budget measures concerning fuel and transport. The three measures presented are reduced taxes on petrol and diesel, a lower ‘reduction obligation’, and higher tax deductions for work-related travel. As for the first measure, the fuel tax on petrol and diesel will decrease temporarily by SEK 0.80, and by SEK 1 in January 2023. The reduction obligation entails balancing biofuels and fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, something the parties wish to reduce to the EU minimum level of 6%. According to Oscar Sjöstedt, Spokesperson for Economic Policy from the Sweden Democrats, the tax reduction – valued at SEK 6.7 billion – is the single largest proposal in the budget bill. For now, it is not clear how it will be financed. Sjöstedt says that the tax cuts will comply with the goals to reduce carbon emissions and that negotiations are taking place about how this will pan out.

SVT Nyheter, DN

Vattenfall planning to build two new nuclear reactors

Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall is planning to build at least two new nuclear reactors in the Ringhals power plant. A central ingredient in the new Government’s energy policy is nuclear power, and Vattenfall will become a driving force for the establishment of more nuclear energy. Although the company began planning to build the small modular reactors in the summer, the technology is still under development. With the technology under development and permits to be requested, the reactors will not likely be installed until after 2030, says CEO of Vattenfall, Anna Borg. The company has also been asked to restart the reactors Ringhals 1 and 2, which were shut down in 2020 and 2019 respectively. However, Borg concluded that it is too late for that and that the reactors are no longer usable. 

SvD Näringsliv, Dagens industri/Di 

Wind energy applications for approval equivalent to all nuclear energy in Sweden

Sweden's climate transition could require twice as much power as it does today. One way to get there is offshore wind power. Seven such projects are already being planned in what is known as the Swedish Economic Area, i.e. 200 nautical miles from the sea. If you add up these applications, that's about 60 TWh of new electricity, which is comparable to the amount of electricity generated by all of Sweden's nuclear power today. This is five times more than the two decommissioned reactors Ringhals 1 and 2, which were produced before the decommissioning began. Sweden’s new Minister of Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch says she welcomes the wind power projects, but at the same time sends a strong message that wind power companies need to bear their own costs and cannot count on billions of SEK in subsidies. However, Cecilia Dahlman Eek, Pesident of the Swedish Wind Energy Association, argues that coordination gains are lost when each wind farm has to solve its own connection problems. Linus Lakso, a Member of Parliament and Spokesman for the Green Party's energy policy, believes this will lead to higher electricity prices.

DN

Vattenfall’s request to build wind power park rejected

Vattenfall has been denied a permit to build a large-scale wind power park by the County Administrative Board (Sw. Länsstyrelsen). Planning for the park ‘Stora Middelgrund’ has been going on since 2019 and was set to be in Sweden’s economic zone, west of the Halland province in southern Sweden. The Halland Administrative Board, however, has sent a recommendation to the Government saying that they should put a stop to planning, as the wind park is expected to have a negative effect on the area’s precious marine wildlife. Another suggested park, Kattegat Syd, has been given the green light, as it is not to be located in a precarious ecological area. Fishermen have, however, protested the second park, saying that the area is important for fishing. It is now up to the Government, and the new Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch (KD) in particular, to make a decision. Busch campaigned for more wind power during the election, but more actively for nuclear power. She now must consider which route to take in a situation where the wind power generated from the planned parks would equate to all electricity production from nuclear power in Sweden.

DN, DN

OX2 releases 3Q22 report. Sells wind farm in Ljusdal

Wind power company OX2 reported an increase in revenue for 3Q22 compared to the same period last year. Turnover increased by 285% to SEK 2.3 billion. Operating profit amounted to SEK 30 million, with an operating margin of 1.3%. Profit after tax landed at SEK 44 million, an increase of 193% compared to the previous year. OX2 also announced that it had sold the Riberget wind farm in the municipality of Ljusdal to Fu-Gen. The wind farm will consist of 11 turbines with an installed capacity of 70 MW. The buyer, Fu-Gen, is a private energy company that develops and owns wind and solar energy and is active in battery storage and electronic fuels (hydrogen) in Northern Europe and the UK. Construction of Riberberget will start in late 2022 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024. Once the wind farm is operational, OX2 will be responsible for the technical and commercial management under a 15-year agreement

Di, Di

EU halts Swedish trade restrictions on electricity 

For years, Svenska kraftnät has restricted the ability to trade between Denmark and Sweden, thus limiting the possibility to export electricity from Denmark to Sweden. This was a big problem for Danish electricity producers, who lost the opportunity to sell their electricity production in the most valuable places. Recently, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has resolved a long-standing dispute between Danish Green Power and Swedish system operator Svenska kraftnät in the former's favor. Specifically, ACER has rejected Svenska kraftnät's application for an exemption from the so-called 70% rule on the availability of international connections. The rule, which came into effect on 1 January, 2020, means that connections between two price zones must always have 70% of their capacity available. However, the rule was born with the possibility of exemptions, and Svenska kraftnät has applied for and received exemptions for 2020 and 2021. ACER's rejection of the 2022 application means that Svenska kraftnät will have to maintain its connection to Denmark in the future and address the internal bottleneck of excess power in parts of the country by other means.

Greenpowerdenmark

Nordic Council of Minister approves Action Plan for Vision 2030

The Nordic Council of Ministers' Action Plan for Vision 2030 has been approved by the Nordic Ministers for Cooperation and is valid from 2021 to 2024. The action plan describes how the Nordic Council of Ministers will achieve the goals of the vision through a series of initiatives linked to the vision's three strategic priorities: a green Nordic region, a competitive Nordic region and a socially sustainable Nordic region. The Nordic Council of Ministers will prioritize the following 12 focus areas:

1. Carbon Neutrality and Climate Adaptation
2. Biodiversity
3. Sustainable production
4. Sustainable consumption
5. International cooperation on environment and climate
6. Knowledge and innovation
7. Labour markets
8. Freedom of movement
9. Well-being for all
10. Inclusive green and digital transformation
11. Cooperation with civil society
12. Trust and cohesion in the Nordic region

Press Release 

The Nordic perspective of COP27

The annual UN climate negotiations will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November. Nordic Co-operation will be present. The Nordic Pavilion at COP27 will host more than 50 events covering a wide range of topics on climate change and solutions, including carbon budgets, green energy, future cities, how to build back green after war, food systems, the importance of forests, the interrelationship between climate and gender, how to finance a just green transition, technical solutions, nature-based solutions, and biodiversity, among other things. To bring it all together, a youth panel will open the Pavilion to share what it hopes to achieve from the UNFCCC negotiation process. The Pavilion will also serve as a platform for Nordic youth organisations to engage in debate and dialogue at COP27 and challenge the Nordic countries to phase out oil and gas, support international ecocide laws, formalize the influence of youth on climate policy, and tighten biodiversity policies.

Press Release 

Nordic Solar to build 250 MW of solar power in Denmark

Nordic Solar has reached an agreement with GreenGo Energy to purchase and build a 250 MW solar park portfolio in Denmark for more than DKK 1 billion over the next three to five years. The first project in the portfolio, Højby Solar Park, has been approved by the Odense municipality and construction is scheduled to start by the end of 2022. The project will have an annual production capacity of approximately 43 GWh. The partnership between Nordic Solar and GreenGo Energy will generate 330 GWh of annual electricity, which is equivalent to about 1% of Denmark's current annual electricity consumption.

Montel

Researchers at the University of Oulu create cost-effective method of converting water into hydrogen using sunlight

The University of Oulu's Nano and Molecular Systems Research Department’s (NANOMO) research team has developed a nickel-based catalyst that uses sunlight to break down water into oxygen and hydrogen, producing hydrogen as an energy source. Using the catalyst, instead of the precious metals often used in hydrogen fuel cells, makes this method a significantly more affordable way to produce hydrogen-based energy. Harishchandra Singh, an adjunct Professor at the University of Oulu, notes that because the method uses renewable, non-carbon energy sources such as solar energy, the resulting hydrogen is also "truly" renewable.

Goodnewsfinland

Ecoclime Group makes write-downs and adjustments to prior years' results

The Board of Directors of Ecoclime Group AB has decided to write down reported assets relating to a balancing charge of SEK 10.8 million for development work, which will be reported and affect the result in the third quarter. In addition, a write-down of financial assets in the form of shares in associated companies of SEK 9.5 million will be reported and affect the results in the third quarter. Without any items affecting cash flow, the impact on the result totals approximately SEK 20 million, which places a burden on the company's result in the third quarter of 2022. In addition, Ecoclime Group changed the accounting principle regarding the so-called cost of cloud computing arrangements. The change in accounting principle occurred retrospectively, which means that the reported results of the previous year were recalculated by SEK 1.5 million.

Press Release 

What we're reading

• The end of Europe’s energy crisis is in sight (Financial Times)
• Cop27 host Egypt plans to push gas as ‘the perfect solution’ (Climate Home News)
• Majority of Europeans say energy crisis should make countries speed up transition – survey (Clean Energy Wire)
• Scientists call for ‘climate smart’ forestry in face of global warming (Euractiv)
• EDF Says Reactor Corrosion Repairs Are on Track As Winter Looms (Bloomberg)
• Australia’s Forrest dives deeper into European green hydrogen with investment in Zhero (RenewEconomy)
• German Rail DB and Australian FFI to Develop Ammonia-Hydrogen Engine (Hydrogen Technology Expo)

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