The need for more wind power in the Nordics

Matilda Afzelius’, RES’ CEO in the Nordics, responds to the article in Dagens Industri titled “Pick up the pace and quickly expand the wind power”

On Monday, 20 September, Dagens Industri published an article on the growing need within Sweden’s industry for more wind power. The article is written by four representatives of large Swedish companies across forestry, steel production and mining sectors. It delivers a clear request to Swedish politicians to increase the pace of delivering wind power.

The article states: “Even though the expansion of wind power has been strong in recent years, there is now a negative trend where fewer and fewer wind turbines are granted permits. This is jeopardizing electrification and opportunities to meet the rapidly increasing need for electricity. Swedish politicians must now come together to remove the obstacles for new green electricity production.”

“We welcome the fact that the industry is making itself heard and clarifying the need for wind power. There are some difficulties in that the need is substantial and targets are set centrally by government however each project is evaluated by the local municipalities. Since we do not have a policy instrument that sets direction that a certain number of megawatts must be developed in a region, a contradiction arises. The need for wind power is simply not included in the individual evaluations of each wind farm planning application”, commented Matilda.

The need demands a more efficient process

In order to compete in a global market, Swedish industry is investing heavily in green electricity. At the same time, the need for electricity is growing very quickly. The DI article included: “The forecasts for Sweden’s future electricity needs, point to a doubling or more in just two decades, from today’s 140 terawatt hours (TWh) to at least 280 TWh.”

Matilda adds “It’s very positive the article so clearly articulates the need for more wind power. It is important that both politicians and society in general understand that the needs of the country are real and urgent”, Matilda continues.

The article goes on to describe the important role of wind power when it comes to supplying Sweden and Swedish industry with green electricity at a low cost, calling for shorter permitting timeframes and speed up the process.

Matilda concludes, “We understand the importance of all wind farms to be evaluated locally and positioned in the best locations, and we have great confidence in Swedish legislation. On the other hand, we believe that it is possible to carry out thorough local evaluations much faster than they are being done today. We have greatest respect for the fact that wind farm are infrastructure facilities that will change the dynamics in the immediate area and therefore we are very keen to do it in the best possible way.”