Last year, OX2 and Ingka Investments were given the go-ahead by the government to build the Galene offshore wind farm in the Kattegat near Varberg. Work is now beginning on preparing a connection to the electricity grid. The project company has signed a cooperation agreement with Ellevio and submitted applications for connection.
The purpose of the co-operation agreement is to exploit synergies between OX2’s expertise and experience in project development and construction of wind power and Ellevio’s experience as an electricity network owner in both the project phase and operation and management. The collaboration also aims to benefit the power system as a whole from a system perspective.
The electricity connection of the wind farm also requires permits and OX2 has submitted three applications: an application to the Energy Markets Inspectorate for a grid concession, an application to the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation for the laying of a submarine cable on the seabed, and a permit under the Environmental Code. The application enables the laying of up to five electricity cables from the wind farm to the landfall site north of Ringhals on the Värö Peninsula, where the cables continue to a transformer station to be built by Ellevio. The electricity cables on land and in the sea will be buried to minimize the impact on environmental values and the landscape.
OX2 and Ellevio have collaborated on regional grid connections of OX2’s onshore wind farms for more than 15 years and have connected more than 1100 MW of OX2’s onshore wind farms in Sweden.
“We look forward to realizing Galene which will provide a welcome addition of renewable energy to the region. For us as an industry to succeed in the energy transition, we need to cooperate with solution and business-focused partners in the electricity network sector such as Ellevio, who have both the will and the knowledge to meet the need for electricity network solutions,” says Hillevi Priscar, Head of Sweden, OX2.
“All fossil-free electricity production is needed to cope with climate change, accelerating electricity demand and stable electricity prices. Offshore wind power is still only a small part of Swedish electricity production, but the interest is enormous. Ellevio and OX2 will now investigate concrete and cost-effective solutions for connecting offshore wind to the grid, for the benefit of the electricity system and electricity customers,” says Johan Lindehag, CEO of Ellevio.
OX2 plans to start construction work in 2026 to enable the wind farm to be operational in 2028 or 2029.
OX2 is developing six offshore wind farms in Sweden together with Ingka Investments: Galene on the west coast, Triton and Neptunus in southern Sweden, Aurora between Öland and Gotland, and Pleione and Ran off the east coast of Gotland. The final decision on licenses to build the Triton and Aurora wind farms lies with the government.
About Galene
The Swedish government announced 16 may 2023 that OX2 has received permission to build the northern part of the project Galatea-Galene on the west coast of Sweden, with a potential capacity of 400 MW. The northern part is called Galene and is named after a Greek sea nymph and the area is located about 22 km outside the city of Varberg, in Kattegatt off the coast of Halland, in the Swedish economic zone.
Source: OX2
