Vattenfall to kill 10-MW offshore wind park in Sweden

Sep 19, 2014 - Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB said Wednesday it plans to decommission its 10-MW offshore wind farm in Sweden’s Kalmar Sound strait, because repowering it would be too expensive.

The Yttre Stengrund wind farm was put online in 2001, which makes it the company’s oldest offshore facility. It is equipped with five 2-MW turbines, only one of which is currently operational. Vattenfall explains it would be too expensive to repair or replace them, because they are of a very old and rare model. Furthermore, the exporting cable also has to be replaced.

Vattenfall is still investing heavily in wind power. According to the company’s website, it plans to invest SEK 11 billion (USD 1.55bn/EUR 1.2bn) in wind power schemes during the next five years.

After the decommissioning, Vattenfall will operate a total of five wind farms in Sweden with several projects underway. Last spring, the company put into operation its largest onshore wind farm in the country. With an installed capacity of 36 MW it produces enough electricity to power 18,000 local households.

(SEK 1 = USD 0.141/EUR 0.109)

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