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Skyborn Renewables has applied to the Swedish government for permission to develop what they claim will be the country’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.9 GW Eystrasalt project in the Bothnian Sea. According to the developer, the project region was chosen due to the advantageous wind conditions and sea depth, as well as its accessibility to both Finland and northern Sweden.
“The application is the result of four years of hard work and extensive project research. Sea measurements of depth conditions and geophysics, bottom surveys, sampling, test fishing, and bird inventories by boat, among other things, have been carried out to get as good a basis for the application as possible,” stated Fredrik Hallander, Project Manager for Eystra Salt Offshore.
The 3.9 GW Eystrasalt offshore wind farm will be located around 60 kilometres off the coast of Gävleborg in the Swedish economic zone in the Bothnian Sea and will have approximately 256 wind turbines.
The project is anticipated to generate 15 TWh of electricity annually upon completion, sufficient to meet 10% of Sweden’s current electricity needs.
Skyborn Renewables said that this is the principal Swedish seaward wind ranch for which a licence has been looked for in a space north of Stockholm.
“The project is the first north of Stockholm to be considered by the government, and it plays an important role in quickly meeting the business world’s demand for new power. We believe that offshore wind power is particularly well suited to northern Sweden because of the systemic benefits of hydropower’s regulating ability, which adds to stability”, said Olle Hedberg, CEO of Skyborn Sweden.
The Swedish Energy Agency has published a paper that serves as the foundation for the country’s maritime planning, allowing for 120 TWh of offshore wind output (or 30 GW of power capacity).
In any case, while the report focuses on regions that could oblige further seaward wind limits, the specialists are yet to assign new marine regions, as per the Swedish Breeze Energy Affiliation.
The goal has been to allow an additional 90 TWh of annual electricity production in Swedish marine areas because the current marine plans only designate areas that can accommodate 20-30 TWh of electricity production per year, which is not enough to meet increased demand.
The Swedish Energy Agency’s report names three new areas in the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and Gulf of Bothnia that have already been given other uses.
