The Uppsala County Administrative Board has announced its recommendation to the Swedish government for the approval of the Fyrskeppet offshore wind farm project. Located 50 km off the mainland coast of Uppsala County, the project is poised to significantly contribute to Sweden’s energy supply.
With a production capacity ranging from 8 to 11 TWh, Fyrskeppet is projected to meet a substantial portion – 6 to 8 percent – of Sweden’s current electricity consumption. This output is equivalent to the annual electricity usage of approximately 1.6 to 2.2 million households.
Niclas Broman, CEO of Skyborn Sweden, expressed his satisfaction with the decision. His full statement, as posted on Skyborn’s LinkedIn page, reads: “This is very good news both for us and for the region, which is in great need of new electricity without fossil fuels, while its consumption is expected to increase by 30–40 percent by 2045. We now hope for a quick process with the government and look forward to permission in the near future.”
Project Details
Skyborn Renewables has submitted a permit application to the government to construct the offshore wind farm east of Finngrundet. The project, named Fyrskeppet Offshore, envisions the installation of up to 187 wind turbines, each reaching a maximum height of 350 meters. The wind farm will cover an area of approximately 488 km2, situated about 50 km north of Örskär. This location partially overlaps with an area designated as nationally significant for wind farms and is also identified as an energy extraction zone in the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management’s marine plans.
Skyborn Renewables initiated the permit application process in July 2023, seeking approval for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the wind farm and associated facilities within Sweden’s economic zone. Concurrently, an application was submitted to the Uppsala County Administrative Board for permits related to the Natura 2000 areas of Finngrundet-Östra banken, Finngrundet-Västra banken, and Finngrundet-Norra banken. In October 2023, the government tasked the Uppsala County Administrative Board with preparing the permit application in accordance with the Swedish Economic Zone Act.
Broader Context
This development occurs against a backdrop of complex decisions regarding offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea. In November of the previous year, Sweden’s Defense Minister, Pal Jonson, announced the government’s decision to reject 13 proposed offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, while approving one project, Poseidon, on Sweden’s west coast. Minister Jonson emphasized the importance of defense interests in these decisions, citing Sweden’s responsibility for security in the Baltic Sea region as a NATO member. Concerns were raised about the potential for wind farms to impede military operations, intelligence gathering, and submarine detection capabilities. The government concluded that the construction of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea could have unacceptable consequences for Sweden’s security.
Source: LI&Skyborn
