Plans have been set in motion for Europe’s largest wind farm to be built in Sweden after approval was given by the Norrbotten county administrative board. If the Swedish government also signs off on the project, this area in northern Sweden will get a total of 1,101 wind turbines at a cost of around SEK 55 billion (EUR 5.1 billion).
Norbotten’s environmental assessment delegation has suggested the project’s contract be awarded to Markbygden Vind AB, a local Swedish company. Markbygden Vind AB is 75 percent owned by Svevind Holding, a Swedish group, and 25 percent owned by Germany’s Enercon, which is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind turbines. The government is expected to give its decision on the matter within 12 months.
Caj Noren, a spokesman for the board, told the AFP, “This would be Europe’s, if not the world’s, biggest wind farm.” He added that construction on the wind farm could begin within two-and-a-half years, and be completed in a decade.
The wind farm is planned to be built in the northern Swedish town of Markbygden, in a 450 square kilometre area. When it’s fully functioning, the wind farm could produce between eight and 12 terawatt hours of energy per year. This is enough to meet Sweden’s national wind power goal of generating 10 terawatt hours per year from wind by 2015.