The Swedish government has turned down its utility Vattenfall to build a wind farm at Stora Middelgrund on Sweden’s west coast.
The country’s Ministry for Climate and Enterprise said that the proposed project posed an unacceptable risk to sensitive natural values.
Minister Romina Pourmokhtari also indicated that the potential negative impact on national interests in shipping was a significant factor in the government’s assessment.
In the coming decades, electricity demand in Sweden is expected to more than double. The country has ambitious targets of 100% renewable energy production by 2040 and to produce 120 TWh annually from offshore wind.
Vattenfall proposed to build around 50 wind turbines at Stora Middelgrund, each measuring some 290 m in height, with the aim of producing between 2.5 and 3 TWh of power per year, corresponding to 1.5% of Sweden’s total electricity consumption.
