Swedish transmission system operator Svenska Kraftnät is working on a report on preparations for the expansion of the offshore grid. They must submit the document to the government by 15 June 2022. Project manager Kristian Lilliesköld points to developers’ strong interest in pursuing offshore wind farms.
“Last fall, the Swedish government contracted Svenska Kraftnät to expand Sweden’s offshore transmission network. The expansion will create conditions for connecting power generation facilities such as offshore wind turbines. This will help Sweden meet its targets for electricity production from RES”, says Kristian Lilliesköld.
Svenska Kraftnät held a dialogue with representatives of the wind energy industry during the fall and spring seasons.
The results of the work are expected to help develop requirements for developers and operators who want to connect offshore farms to the Swedish transmission grid. The system operator will describe, among others, what the process of connecting offshore wind farms will look like and where wind installations are planned. In addition, the operator will inform developers how applications for farm connections that have already been submitted will be handled.
“Interest in offshore wind farms is very high. By April 2022, Svenska Kraftnät had received applications to connect 125 GW of capacity in more than 40 unique offshore wind areas. Of these 125 GW, about 35 GW overlap, i.e. several developers are planning wind farms on the same sea area”, says Lilliesköld.
In comparison, various types of energy sources with a total capacity of 43 GW are currently connected to the Swedish electricity grid.
The surge in applications in recent years is mainly due to the 2016 energy deal. It provides for the elimination of connection costs for offshore wind energy.
