In Sweden, two offshore wind farm projects have been given the green light, but their realization is uncertain

The Swedish government announced on Thursday, July 16, that it had given the green light to two offshore wind farm projects, but their awardees warned that state support would be necessary to bring them to fruition.

The state has also rejected 11 other wind farm projects because of their impact on Swedish defense capabilities, the government said in a statement.

The two projects that have received the green light are Fyrskeppet Offshore, in the south of the Bothnian Sea (East), and the Vidar project, in the north of the Skagerrak sea passage (southwest).

But the owners of the two projects, wind energy specialist Skyborn Renewables for Fyrskeppet, and the state-owned group Vattenfall for Vidar, have warned that they will need public assistance to develop the project.

"Government approval does not automatically mean a project can be implemented," said Niclas Broman, CEO of Skyborn Renewables, in a statement. Fyrskeppet is expected to generate approximately 5 TWh of renewable electricity per year.

"For offshore wind projects to translate into concrete investments," he adds, "a risk-sharing mechanism will be necessary, for example through bilateral contracts for difference (CfD) and state-backed credit guarantees, which reduce investment risk and unlock project financing."

For its part, Vattenfall "welcomes" this permit but warns, "at present, the conditions necessary for investments in offshore wind power are not met in Sweden", in a message to AFP.

In September 2024, Vattenfall suspended the construction of "Kriegers flak", a wind farm located in the Baltic Sea, citing a lack of profitability and the excessively high cost of connecting to the grid.

Regarding the eleven rejected projects, the government had already made a similar decision in November 2024 for 13 other projects in the Baltic Sea, judging that they could disrupt Swedish defense sensors.