The Blekinge Offshore wind farm, located within the municipalities of Karlshamn and Sölvesborg, comprises up to 70 wind turbines with a production of approx. 4.3 TWh of renewable electricity per year. This represents a significant addition for southern Sweden and the Blekinge Region, which sees offshore wind power as an opportunity to increase self-sufficiency in electricity at competitive prices.
'The technical conditions are incredibly good with shallow waters and proximity to the power grid, which allows us to build with existing technology. This makes Blekinge Offshore an optimal project for those who want more electricity production and lower electricity prices in southern Sweden,' says Per Witalisson, CEO of Eolus.
Blekinge Offshore is owned by Eolus and the local company Vingkraft, which initiated the project.
'We are now submitting a completely revised application to build Blekinge Offshore. The project is important for the future of the region, and we can build it without compromising the living creatures and valuable environments that exist in the sea,' says Anders Nilsson, CEO of Blekinge Offshore and initiator of the project.
Blekinge Offshore is located at its closest about eleven kilometers from the mainland, and about five kilometers east of Hanö, in an area identified as suitable for energy production in the coastal plans of Blekinge’s coastal municipalities. In 2016, the Swedish government rejected an earlier application in the area, citing the interests of the Swedish Armed Forces. The objections then concerned that the previous project area encroached on parts of a marine training area and that the distance between the wind turbines was too small. Since 2021, a new project has been developed with 40 percent less area, 90 percent fewer turbines, and a quadrupled distance – which means two kilometers – between them. Further measures to accommodate the Swedish Armed Forces have been developed in regional collaboration.
'Together with the Blekinge Region and the municipalities of Kristianstad and Simrishamn, we have opened up to offer the Swedish Armed Forces an extended area for marine exercises in Hanö Bay. Our proposal for an expansion of 770 square kilometers corresponds to an area five times larger than Blekinge Offshore. From the perspective of the coastal municipalities and the region, we are very eager for the project to proceed,' says Birgit Birgersson-Brorsson (S), Chair of the Municipal Council in Sölvesborg, and Kith Mårtensson (M), Vice Chair of the Municipal Council in Sölvesborg.
Johan Dalén is the regional director of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in Skåne and Blekinge, and for him, it has become increasingly clear that southern Sweden must create opportunities for more electricity production.
'We must stop putting different types of energy against each other and instead embrace every kWh that we can produce ourselves in electricity price area 4 – regardless of how it is produced. In this way, we create jobs instead of risking losing investments and establishments due to uncertainty in electricity supply and higher electricity prices than surrounding regions,' says Johan Dalén.
During a press conference in Nogersund on Monday morning, local fishermen were also present.
'Blekinge Offshore does not encroach on fishing. Rather, it becomes a very good nursery habitat for fish that like to hide by the foundations,' says Lennart Arvidsson, a local fisherman.
The application for an environmental permit has now been submitted to the Land and Environment Court in Växjö. An application to conduct investigations on the seabed and lay underwater cables has also been sent to the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. The applications, including an environmental impact assessment with accompanying investigations, will be sent out for consultation to concerned stakeholders before a decision on the permit is made.
About Blekinge Offshore:
- Number of turbines: max. 70
- Installed effect: 1000 MW
- Distance from shore: approx. 11 km (5 km to Hanö)
- Height: max. 330 meters to tip of the blade
- Foundations: Gravity-based bottom-fixed foundations
- Possible start of construction: 2027
Source: Eolus
