Wind power development in Sweden has effectively ground to a halt

After years of strong growth in wind power, Sweden is now facing stagnation. Not a single project was added in the last quarter of last year, which will have a negative impact on installed capacity growth in the years ahead. However, last year was relatively strong in terms of new plants coming online, with wind power accounting for roughly a quarter of the country's electricity generation.

Sweden has recently been facing stagnation in the construction of new power plants. The existing generation mix of hydropower, nuclear power and wind power is keeping electricity prices too low for the construction of new plants to be profitable without stronger guarantees. While this situation is favourable for electricity consumers in the country, it could prove costly for Sweden in the long term.

Wind power has seen strong growth in Sweden over the past decade. Total installed capacity has roughly tripled to more than 18 GW over that period. Wind farms have thus become a significant source of electricity, ranking third last year behind hydropower and nuclear power. However, the development of new capacity could slow considerably in the years ahead.

According to data from the Green Power Sweden association, investment activity in Swedish wind power was very low last year. The association says not a single new project was added in the final quarter, while orders for wind turbines totalled just 30 MW for the whole of last year. It therefore predicts that installed capacity growth will come to a halt after 2027, based on current investment decisions.

“The sharp decline in new investment in wind power has a delayed impact on the market. The projects being commissioned today have been through several years of permitting, which means their effects will only become apparent in a few years,” said Anton Johansson, head of analysis and marketing at Green Power Sweden, according to renews.biz.

Although last year was very weak in terms of new investment decisions, the picture was different when it came to commissioning new plants. According to the association, new wind farms with an installed capacity of 1.4 GW came online over the year, more than 1 GW of that in the fourth quarter. Last year's growth in installed capacity will therefore be fully reflected in annual generation statistics only this year.