5.5 GW Swedish Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead

Wind farm developer OX2 has submitted a permit application under the act of Sweden’s Exclusive Economic Zone to construct an offshore wind farm in the Swedish Economic Zone between the islands of Gotland and Öland.

The wind farm Aurora will be situated about 20 kilometres from the island of Gotland and 30 kilometres from the Island of Öland.

The wind farm will comprise up to 370 wind turbines, with a maximum height of 370 metres. The total installed capacity is estimated at 5,500 MW.

OX2 has previously applied for a Natura 2000-permit for the Aurora wind farm.

The electricity production from the planned wind farm will be about 24 TWh per year, which corresponds to the electricity consumption of about five million households or about 17 per cent of the total electricity consumption in Sweden, OX2 said.

”This is the next step to realize the Aurora wind farm. Together with our other planned offshore wind farms it constitutes a significant part of the electricity production Sweden needs, to reach the climate targets and to secure the production and energy independence of Sweden,” said Hillevi Priscar, country manager, OX2 Sweden.

The project is in an early development stage and part of OX2 Sweden’s project development portfolio, which by the end of the first quarter of 2022 amounted to 11.7 GW.

Back in February, Sweden’s government launched a search for new sea areas to support the country’s newly established plan of generating up to 120 terawatt-hours of offshore wind electricity annually.

The Swedish Energy Agency has already identified areas suitable for producing 20-30 TWh of electricity annually in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea, and the North Sea.