Vattenfall Shelves Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind Project in Sweden

September 2, 2024, by Adnan Memija

Vattenfall has chosen to put the 640 MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm on hold until further notice because the investment conditions in Sweden are not feasible at this time, according to the developer.

Vattenfall said that the investment prerequisites for offshore wind in Sweden are currently not viable, and the company has therefore decided to pause all further development of the project.

The developer has already obtained several permits that are required for building and operating the offshore wind farm, including the authorisation in accordance with the Swedish Economic Zone Act, the Land and Environment Court’s permit, the Natura 2000 permit, and the approval to lay the subsea cables for the project.

If the investment prerequisites improve and the permits are all still valid, the project could be resumed. According to Vattenfall, the company has previously communicated that one of the main prerequisites for investing in the project is a reasonable connection point to the national grid offshore.

Located about 30 kilometres south of Trelleborg, the Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm was planned to be commissioned in 2028 and is estimated to generate 2.7 TWh of fossil-free electricity per year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of just over 500,000 households.

The Kriegers Flak area in the Baltic Sea consists of three parts dedicated to wind power development in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

On the Danish side, Vattenfall has already built Denmark’s 605 MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm, which has been operational since 2021. On the German side of Kriegers Flak, the 288 MW EnBW Baltic 2 wind farm has been in operation since 2015.

Vattenfall is currently developing offshore wind projects in Sweden that together have the potential to annually deliver 18 TWh of fossil-free electricity by 2035.