Sweden Offshore Wind Grid Connections[Draft]

Sweden operates a developer-build model combined with an open-door permitting system (currently under review for transition to a tender-based system). The developer identifies sites, applies for permits, and builds the grid connection from the offshore wind farm to the onshore transmission network.

The fundamental challenge is that Sweden’s regulatory framework was not designed for large-scale offshore wind. The open-door system allows developers to propose projects anywhere, leading to conflicts with defence, shipping, fishing, and environmental interests.

Sweden has a small number of operational offshore/near-shore wind farms, but no large-scale offshore wind farms have been commissioned since 2013, and no new offshore wind construction is currently underway as of March 2026.

Sweden’s offshore wind consenting process is widely regarded as one of the most complex and time-consuming in Europe. A typical EEZ project can take 8–12 years from initial application to final government decision.

The Swedish Armed Forces hold de facto veto power over offshore wind development. No explicit statutory veto exists, but the government must consider national defence interests and the Armed Forces’ assessment carries decisive weight.

In December 2024, the government inquiry delivered its final report recommending a fundamental reform of Sweden’s offshore wind framework:

Svenska Kraftn\u00e4t operates Sweden’s 400/220 kV transmission grid (~16,200 km of lines). Sweden is divided into four electricity bidding zones with a fundamental north–south bottleneck.

Sweden has pioneering HVDC expertise. The world’s first commercial HVDC link was commissioned on Gotland in 1954 (ASEA/ABB), and the world’s first VSC-HVDC transmission (Gotland HVDC Light, 50 MW) was commissioned in 1999.

Sweden is exceptional among European countries with major offshore wind ambitions in offering no dedicated financial support for offshore wind. There is no CfD, no feed-in tariff, no feed-in premium, and no guaranteed revenue mechanism. Developers must rely entirely on merchant electricity sales and/or corporate PPAs.

With no subsidy available, corporate PPAs are the primary route to bankability for Swedish offshore wind. Sweden (along with Norway) was a frontrunner in developing a PPA market in the Nordics. The SOU 2024:89 inquiry noted the potential for introducing CfDs alongside the tender system.

The Combined Grid Solution (Energinet/50Hertz) connecting the Danish and German sides is the world’s first offshore grid connecting wind farms in two countries. Vattenfall paused the Swedish side due to “unfeasible investment conditions.”

Sweden participates in BOGI through Svenska Kraftn\u00e4t, alongside seven other Baltic Sea TSOs.

All 13 projects were in the EEZ in the Baltic Sea. Total rejected capacity: ~32 GW.

Sweden is not an NSEC member. Current NSEC members are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and the European Commission. Sweden participates in regional offshore cooperation primarily through BEMIP and BOGI.

However, Sweden’s west coast (Skagerrak/Kattegat) faces the North Sea area covered by NSEC, and notably all three approved Swedish projects (Kattegat Syd, Galene, Poseidon) are on this west coast — the only area not affected by Baltic defence restrictions.

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