Sweden: Plan presented for new connection points for offshore wind power

Interest for offshore wind turbines has increased in Sweden after it became clear that the state will pay for the cables from land to the offshore farms. Swedish electricity grid operator Svenska Kraftnät has presented the plans for where the new connection points at sea will be located. There will be four along the south and west coasts. The first that will be initiated and projected is the one outside Gothenburg. Connections are also planned north of Gävlebukten and in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. Daniel Gustafsson, department manager for Power Systems at Svenska Kraftnät, said that the areas were selected among other things based on whether electricity production can bring value. He added that this is the reason why many of the points are in southern Sweden. A connection point in the north was included because new energy-intensive industrial investments are planned in the area, such as the Northvolt battery factory and the production of green steel. Along the entire coastline from southern Öland up to Gävle, there is currently no planned connection point. Gustafsson explained that there are believed to be many objections connect to defence to offshore wind power in that area. More connection points are expected in the future.