A huge 2.5 GW floating offshore wind farm has applied for a permit

Sweden-based Freja Offshore, a joint venture between floating offshore wind developer Hexicon and Mainstream Renewable Power, has applied to the Swedish Ministry of Climate and Business for a permit for a huge floating offshore wind farm.

Sweden’s proposed floating offshore wind farm is called Mareld, and it would be sited off Sweden’s west coast. The massive 2.5 gigawatt (GW) project has the potential to deliver 9-12 TeraWatt hours (TWh). That’s the equivalent of more than half of the electricity consumption of the nearby Västra Götaland region – and the majority of Sweden’s west coast currently imports its electricity.

To put the size of Mareld into perspective, Norway’s 88 MW Hywind Tampen is currently the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm – and offshore wind is such a fledgling industry that Hywind Tampen is operating nearly half (47%) of the world’s floating offshore wind capacity.

Mareld’s website has a timeline that estimates that it takes three months to finish the completion procedure, three to eight months to finish the referral procedure, and if the government approves the project, it will take another three to four years until the wind farm produces its first electricity – so that’s roughly 2028.

Sweden aims to achieve net zero by 2045, and its electricity consumption is projected to double, from around 150 TWh to around 300 TWh annually. 

Sebastian Bringsværd, head of Norway and Sweden at Mainstream Renewable Power, said:

Offshore wind is still in the start phase in Sweden, but we have moved to position ourselves early in the market to take a lead in the development of the sector. The location of Mareld and our other three sites that we developing are attractive in their proximity to Sweden’s big cities and industry clusters, which require a lot of energy.

Freja Offshore is planning to develop offshore wind at four sites in Sweden. Together, they have the potential to supply over 6 million households with renewable electricity.

Read more: This floating wind platform with tilted towers earned a European patent

Photo and map: Hexicon

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