Sweden has ambitious climate goals and aims to become net zero in 2045. Renewable energy (RE) from wind, solar, and hydropower is already in high demand from Swedish households and industries and is necessary for a successful green transition. In total, wind covered 26 per cent of power generation in Sweden in 2023.
However, wind developers experience barriers to establishing RE projects in Sweden, which could ultimately lead to fewer investments in RE in the future.
Copenhagen Economics has been commissioned by Tillväxtanalys, the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis, to contrast and compare Swedish permitting process and spatial prioritisation of land areas and seabed – specifically for wind development – relative to Denmark and Finland, to uncover barriers for location-specific wind investments in Sweden and identification of best practises to overcome these barriers.
We identified several barriers for wind developers in Sweden and recommendations to lower these barriers:
• Lack of clear political priority: Sweden can consider setting long-term, politically binding goals for RE.
• Long permitting processes: Onshore: Sweden can consider implementing more parallel permitting processes to lower permitting times. Offshore: Some of the processes could be combined under one public entity.
• Municipal vetoes: Sweden can consider local compensation schemes and/or make use of the exception rule under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
• Site exclusivity: Developers could be assigned exclusivity to a site earlier than today under certain conditions.
• Overlapping interests: Lack of prioritisation of usage of land and sea areas: Sweden can consider appointing areas as so-called acceleration areas, i.e., areas designated for RE development.
• Role of the Armed Forces: The Swedish government can pre-clear specific areas as prioritised offshore wind areas together with the military.
• Lack of clear grid infrastructure planning: Sweden should ensure long term clarity around grid build out and grid connection costs.
