Politics Sweden halts wind power projects due to defense concerns

In Sweden, a new NATO member state, 13 planned offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea have been rejected. The government in Stockholm announced that it would not issue any permits for the construction and operation of the farms, which were to extend off the Swedish east coast from the largely autonomous Finnish archipelago of Åland down to the Öresund near Denmark, including several north of Rügen.

According to the Swedish armed forces, the reason for the cancellation is that the offshore wind turbines would interfere with sensors and radars, among other things, and thus impair the country's defense capabilities. Defense Minister Pål Jonson warned that enemy cruise missiles or submarines could be detected later or less easily. Building these projects would have unacceptable consequences for Sweden's military defense, he said at a press conference. Jonson referred to the current tense security situation and Kaliningrad in Russia, which, like Sweden, borders the Baltic Sea.

Only one other wind farm on the Swedish west coast was given the green light. Ten other applications for the expansion of wind power at sea are currently still on the Swedish government's table - it is still unclear whether they will receive approval.

SDA