An offshore wind farm off Southern Sweden will target green hydrogen production in neighbouring Denmark, said its developers as they announced an acceleration of the 500MW project’s timetable.
Norway-based Magnora and co-investor Kustvind said the Sydkustens Vind shallow-water project will now enter its development phase with seabed investigations and other activities.
“The decision follows several studies performed during the spring of 2020 which have provided the answers we were looking for. We are now more certain that this is a good project commercially and technically feasible,” said Haakon Alfstad, investment director at Magnora, which cited “very attractive” wind conditions and power prices in southern Sweden.
The developers said they would speed up their original schedule by 10 months but gave no target date for commercial operation for the project – 8km offshore in Sweden’s Øresund region adjacent to Denmark – which they reckon could potentially supply 250,000 Swedish homes in a fast-growing area of the country.
Magnora added: “Furthermore, the Copenhagen Municipality has together with leading Danish corporations decided to build the world’s largest green hydrogen facility. Both factors are positive for the region’s demand for green energy.”
The Copenhagen plan, whose partners include offshore wind giant Orsted, aims to deploy 1.3GW of electrolysers to produce H2 for buses and trucks, renewable methanol for long-distance shipping and renewable jet fuel for aviation.
The Sydkustens Vind developer’s optimism is another positive signal for offshore wind in Sweden following the decision by global giant Iberdrola to take a controlling interest in a potential 9GW of development.
Baltic neighbour Poland this week also threw its weight behind large-scale development with plans for a UK-style ‘sector deal’ for its offshore wind sector.