Ellevio expands to northern Sweden – acquires power grid for Europe's largest wind farm

One of Sweden’s largest energy companies, Ellevio, has acquired Markbygden Net AB, a modern transmission network which connects Europe's largest wind farm cluster Markbygden 1101 outside Piteå in northern Sweden.

With the acquisition, Ellevio is establishing itself in Sweden’s northern electricity region for the first time, strengthening its role in accelerating Sweden's journey towards net-zero emissions by 2045.

- We play a key role in the electrification of industry and transport, including the distribution of electricity from the increasing share of renewables in the energy system. With the acquisition of Markbygden Net AB, we will be a long-term, reliable and engaged partner that secures the supply of green electricity to growing industry needs, says Johan Lindehag, CEO of Ellevio.

Ellevio has for a long time worked to enable the connection of more wind and solar farms in its own network areas in central Sweden. Investments to modernise and expand the capacity of regional and local networks, as well as large investments in energy storage facilities, are important as renewables become a larger part of the nation’s electricity system.

- The green transition is happening everywhere, but northern Sweden is the spearhead for the industrial transition to carbon neutrality. By expanding north, Ellevio will come closer to several large electricity producers as well as Sweden's most electricity-intensive industries. It is strategically significant for us to enable energy transition and electrification in more parts of the country, says Lindehag.

Markbygden Net AB was previously owned by Svevind AB (75%) and German wind turbine manufacturer Enercon (25%).

- The size and the technical installations are examples of how renewables contribute a large, reliable and increasing share of the energy mix while providing support functions to the national grid. We are proud that this important energy infrastructure project, successfully developed and realised by Svevind, is now transferred to a major electricity distribution company, states Wolfgang Kropp, CEO and founder of the SVEVIND Energy Group.

About the acquisition:

• Markbygden 1101, Europe’s largest wind farm cluster. The total production capacity is estimated to c. 3,400 MW, delivering up to 12 TWh per year – around 7 percent of Sweden’s total electricity production. In comparison, the annual production from the Lule river (Luleälven) hydro production is approximately 14 TWh.
• The Markbygden Net AB electrical grid connects parts of the Markbygden 1101 farm cluster, with c. 1,700 Megawatt of distribution capacity, and annual generation of approximately 5 to 6 TWh.
• Ellevio owns Markbygden Net AB as of 20 September 2023.
• Upon acquiring the grid, Ellevio will have five customers consisting of the wind farm operators.

For more information, please contact: 

Jesper Liveröd, Head of Press, +46 770 929 96 23
jesper.liverod@ellevio.se

Sarah Östberg, Head of Financial and Sustainability Communications, +46 70 971 12 40
sarah.ostberg@ellevio.se

About Ellevio
With close to one million customers, Ellevio is one of Sweden’s largest energy companies. Together with our customers we take an active role in the journey towards an increasingly electrified society. Our electricity grids are the backbone that connects producers and consumers, enable more renewable electricity, electrification of transport and industry and create opportunities for new climate-smart solutions. We have about 750 employees and employ a total of 3,000 people around the country. We are owned by the pension managers OMERS Infrastructure, AP3, Folksam and AMF.