The Swedish Government has rejected 13 offshore wind projects to be developed outside Sweden’s territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, citing security and defence concerns. The 13 rejected projects could have had a potential capacity of 32 GW. Among the projects, Sweden notably rejected OX2’s 5.5 GW Aurora, 3.1 GW Neptunus, 1 GW Pleione, and 1.4 GW Triton offshore wind projects. Eolus had two of its projects denied, namely the 1.4 GW Arkona and the 2 GW Skibladner projects. Additionally, Sweden rejected applications from Ørsted for the 1.5 GW Skåne project, as well as RWE’s 2 GW Södra Victoria, Statkraft’s 2.5 GW Baltic Offshore Beta, and 2.1 GW Baltic Offshore Delta North projects. Finally, Freja Offshore, a joint venture between Hexicon and Mainstream Renewable Power, saw two of its projects rejected (Cirrus and Dyning).
Simultaneously, the Swedish Government has approved one offshore wind project, namely the 1.4 GW Poseidon offshore wind project, which is being developed by Vattenfall and Zephyr Vind and expected to produce 5.5 TWh/year of electricity once completed in 2031.
At the end of 2023, Sweden had only 193 MW of installed offshore wind capacity (against over 16 GW of onshore wind capacity). The country aims to reach an entirely “fossil-free” electricity system by 2040.