The County Administrative Board of Halland has given its approval to the 1.7 GW offshore wind farm Galatea-Galene, being developed by OX2 in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, some 25 kilometres off the coast of Halland.
The County Administrative Board said the government can give permission for the project to be built according to the Act on Sweden’s exclusive economic zone. Prior to obtaining the county’s approval, OX2 also got the green light from the Swedish Armed Forces for the northern part of the wind farm, while the dialogue for the southern area is still underway.
According to the developer, the final decision is now up to the government of Sweden, with whose approval construction could start already in 2026. The 1.7 GW offshore wind farm is proposed to be built and operated without subsidies.
The Galatea-Galene offshore wind farm is divided into two areas: the Galatea site is located 25 kilometres off the city of Falkenberg and Galene is in waters some 25 kilometres away from the city of Varberg.
The wind farm is planned to comprise up to 101 wind turbines and produce about 6-7 TWh per year, which corresponds to annual electricity consumption for about 1.2 million households, according to OX2.
Galatea-Galene is one of three projects that OX2 is developing together with Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest owner and operator of IKEA Retail. The other two are Triton outside the coast of Skåne and Aurora between the islands Gotland and Öland.
In November last year, Clinton Marine Survey completed a geophysical survey at the Galatea-Galene wind farm, which included both the wind farm area and the planned cable corridors to shore. A couple of months before that, OX2 announced that it signed letters of intent with companies Kobb and Nordic Seafarm to investigate opportunities for large-scale cultivation of seaweed at the offshore wind farm.