Arctic winds: construction start for Europe’s biggest wind park

When the Markbygden project is completed, presumably by year 2021, up to 12 TWh will annually be generated in the forested hills outside Piteå, northern Sweden.

It will be the biggest land-based wind park in all of Europe, and one of the biggest in the world. Up to 1,100 turbines are planned built, and the first ones are to stand ready already in the course of 2018.

At least 150 workers are now involved in construction, and by the end of the year the number will be increased to 500, Affarer i Nord reports.

The project took a leap forward in late 2017 when General Electric and its partner Green Investment Group put €800 million on the table. The deal includes 179 wind turbines with a comprised capacity of 650 MW.

It was a milestone for project operator Svevind, which has developed the project over 15 years. Several more investors are onboard, among them Enercon.

«This is an area with great preconditions and we have good local cooperation partners and a major local engagement,» Deputy Head of GE Renewable Energy, Jérôme Pécresse, said during a visit on site last week.

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As much as 60 billion SEK (€5,91 billion) will ultimately be invested in the Markbygden project, Affarer i Nord reports.

Among the buyers of the energy will be Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro, which in November last year announced that its subsidiary Hydro Energi AS had signed a long-term contract with the Markbygden Ett AB on annual 1,65 TWh power deliveries in the period 2021-2039.