Industry body baffled by Sweden's offshore wind cancellation

Sweden’s abrupt cancellation of 13 offshore wind projects over defence concerns jeopardises the country’s industrial competitiveness and energy security goals, while up to EUR 47 billion (USD 50bn) in private investments could be lost, WindEurope said.

The Swedish government's unexpected announcement earlier this week affects developers such as OX2, Eolus, Ørsted, RWE, Freja Offshore, Deep Wind Offshore and Statkraft. Most of the projects were at an early stage of development, the industry organisation noted.

“Yet again Sweden is bottom of the class on offshore wind. The Swedish Government has been unhelpful on offshore wind for many years. But a plain ban on offshore wind development in large parts of the Baltic Sea is unheard of. This makes no sense, not least when all the other countries around the Baltic Sea want to build more offshore wind and are progressing well on it,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.

The organisation pointed out that Poland now views offshore wind development as a way to improve military surveillance through the installation of radar and sonar systems in offshore wind farms.

It added it is currently working with NATO and the European Defence Agency (EDA) to address the concerns raised by the Swedish government and its military.

WindEurope further said that the cancellation exposes the weakness of the so-called “open-door” system, where wind developers start project development work without aligning with other interests. In the EU, only Italy and Sweden use this approach to offshore wind development.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.070)

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