Vattenfall to make major investment in wind energy in The Sound

Vattenfall AB is planning to build an offshore wind power park that will increase current total wind power capacity by 40 per cent.

Vattenfall is in the process of acquiring all the rights required to build the Örestad Wind Power Park. The plan is to build a total of 48 wind power plants in an area seven kilometres off the coast of Skåne, south-east of the bridge over The Sound. This will be the largest wind power project in Sweden to date, and one of the first offshore projects. The total cost for the Örestad Wind Power Park is estimated at SEK 1.5 billion. “This investment will multiply our wind power capacity and reinforce our position as the leading wind power generator in the country. Wind power makes an important contribution to our total production and also represents a commercially driven investment in the environment,” says Alf Lindfors, Head of Vattenfall Nordic Generation. “As society’s need for electricity is growing constantly, our production planning must be very long-term. Wind power is an interesting complement to our present generation mix and a part of the generation system of the future. We now have the opportunity to build a large-scale wind power park within a short period of time and at the same time acquire a lot of valuable experience of offshore plants,” says Alf Lindfors. It is calculated that the Örestad Wind Power Park will increase the total amount of wind power electricity generated in Sweden from today’s figure of just under 700 GWh to over 1 000 GWh. This increase represents the electricity required to heat approximately 17 000 detached houses. If everything goes according to plan, the wind power park will begin to generate electricity in 2007. At present, Vattenfall has around 60 GWh of wind power capacity and is applying for permits for an additional 60 GWh in a planned wind power park outside Karlskrona. The addition of Örestad means that Vattenfall is planning to generate a total of around 450 GWh of wind power electricity per year. From Vattenfall's Press Office, telephone: +46 8 739 50 10. For more information, please contact: Alf Lindfors, Head of Nordic Generation, telephone +46 (0)8-739 55 70. Göran Dandanell, Head of Project Development, Nordic Generation, telephone +46 (0)8-739 75 18, mobile +46 (0)70-539 65 18.