Eolus eyes up to 25MW turbines for third gigawatt-scale Swedish offshore wind farm

The developer said on Tuesday (19 December) it had submitted plans for the 1700MW Najaderna  offshore wind farm to the Swedish government’s Land and Environment Court for approval. 

Eolus said the Najaderna project will comprise 67 turbines and have a capacity of between 1.0-1.7GW, producing 4-5TWh of electricity per year. It expects to use turbines with blade tip heights of up to 365 metres – taller than any wind turbines currently in operation. 

Eolus CEO Per Witalisson told Windpower Monthly the proposed layout “caters for turbines ranging from 15-25 MW.” 

He added: “The best suitable technology will be used based on models available when reaching final investment decision.” 

Najaderna is planned for an offshore site suitable for fixed-bottom foundation turbines, 17km from the shore in the Tiep municipality in Uppsala County, eastern Sweden. 

The Swedish developer claims that the project, depending on its final size, could bring in SEK 7 million (around €627,000) annually for local community activities and associations. 

According to Witalisson, once completed the project will make significant inroads into meeting energy demand in the central eastern region of Sweden – which accounts for a third of the country’s energy consumption. 

“Najaderna would provide an annual addition of up to 5TWh of fossil-free electricity directly to industries undergoing transformation and new industries such as hydrogen production and manufacturing. 

“The governor of [neighbouring] Gävleborg County recently expressed that thousands of jobs have been lost due to insufficient investments in the electricity grid and new electricity production. Here we have a very good opportunity to contribute to changing the situation,” Witalisson said. 

“Offtake is expected to be fed into the Swedish National Grid. It is foreseen that hybridization at site or partnerships with producers of hydrogen or more advanced e-fuels is feasible to increase the attractiveness of the project,” he added. 

The project has a construction start target of 2028, and Eolus hopes it will be delivering power “by the beginning of the 2030s”. 

In addition to submitting applications for the offshore wind farm, Eolus said an environmental impact assessment would be sent for consultation “to relevant stakeholders before a decision is made on the permit”. 

The Najaderna project is the third offshore wind farm the company is developing in Sweden, alongside the 1000MW Västvind in the Kattegatt Sea outside Gothenburg, and the 1400MW Arkona project 22km off the southern coast of Sweden. 

The company recently announced plans to buy Finnish construction company YIT’s renewable energy business, which includes a 2.3GW development portfolio, earlier this month.