By building windmills or leasing land for windmill building, Swedish forest owners can contribute to Sweden’s power supply. The Swedish Forest companies SCA and Holmen, which owns vast forest land areas, see great potential in wind power. The trade association Swedish Forest Industries refers to them in an article. 
Photo: Per Jonsson
Wind power
“On SCA-owned land, we can build wind power production corresponding to 65 TWh. But in practice, our contribution to power production is decreased to approx. 15 TWh due to municipal veto, reindeer business, environmental acts, etc. Our, and the forestry business’ contributions to power supply could be much bigger with fewer restrictions”, says Ulf Larsson, CEO at SCA according to the article.
Doubled electricity demand
Sweden’s demand for electricity is expected to double until 2045. A lot of windmills are built currently but after 2025 the expansion rate will slow down according to the trade association Svensk Vindkraft (Swedish Windpower). With simpler and faster permit processes and prioritized climate goals, the pace could stay at its current level.
The new Swedish government focuses on more nuclear power, which is positive for the forest industry. But building nuclear power takes time and according to both SCA and Holmen, more land-based power, like wind power is needed to solve the problem faster.
Read the article at Swedish Forest Industries here (in Swedish).
