Space Travel News
WIND DAILY
Sweden blocks 13 offshore wind farms over defence concerns
Sweden blocks 13 offshore wind farms over defence concerns
By Johannes LEDEL
Stockholm (AFP) Nov 4, 2024

Sweden's government said Monday it had blocked the construction of 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, after the country's military said they could impair defence capabilities.

Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari told a press conference that construction permits for the planned wind farms were denied because they "would have an unacceptable impact on defence interests".

All 13 projects were planned in areas off NATO's newest member's southeastern Baltic Sea coast -- directly opposite the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The decision follows a study by the Swedish Armed Forces, published by public broadcaster SVT last week, which showed that the projects could significantly disrupt sensors used by the military.

The towers and rotating blades of the wind turbines emit radar echoes and generate other forms of interference.

"In this serious security situation that Sweden is now in, the interests of defence need to carry extra weight," Defence Minister Pal Jonson told reporters.

Jonson said offshore wind farms in the area could disrupt military radars and delay the detection of incoming cruise missiles, cutting the warning time from two minutes to 60 seconds.

"One of the experiences from Ukraine is that Russia uses many long-range systems, both cruise missiles and ballistic missiles," Jonson said.

The Industry Association for Wind Power in Sweden said the decision was "surprising".

"It is problematic that the government categorically closes an entire area to potential electricity production without a proper overall assessment," it said in a statement.

Jonson said areas off Sweden's southwestern and northeastern coasts were better suited for offshore wind projects.

- Kaliningrad -

The minister said the relative proximity to "highly militarised" Kaliningrad had been "central in the assessment."

Tensions in the region have risen following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

NATO in late October opened a new naval base in the Germany city of Rostock to coordinate the forces of the military alliance's members in the area.

Russia summoned the German ambassador to Moscow the day after the inauguration to protest the new naval command centre.

Moscow called the centre a "blatant breach" of the treaty on the reunification of Germany in 1990 that said no foreign armed forces would be deployed in the area, a claim Berlin denied.

Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment in the wake of the Ukraine invasion and joined the US-led military alliance.

The Baltic Sea has thereby become surrounded by alliance members, with some analysts dubbing it a NATO lake.

Jonson also said that Sweden had a "special responsibility" as an alliance member when it comes to the Baltic Sea, "where we have unique abilities that are also important for the whole alliance."

At the same time, energy needs, particularly from renewable sources, are high on the agenda.

A government memo seen by AFP noted that other countries have found workarounds for offshore wind power, such as the use of special "gap filling radars" placed in the vicinity of the parks.

However, it noted that Sweden's military geographic location "means we consider different trade-offs."

The same memo noted the pressing need for increased energy production as electricity demand in Sweden could more than double by 2045.

The government stressed Monday that the expansion of wind power was still a priority and announced that it was giving the green light to an offshore wind power park off Sweden's west coast.

The Poseidon wind power park will utilise floating windmills and will be able to deliver up to 5.5 TWh of energy per year.

Another 10 planned offshore wind power parks are currently being considered by the government.

Related Links
Wind Energy News at Wind Daily

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WIND DAILY
Sweden's defence concerned by planned offshore wind power
Stockholm (AFP) Nov 1, 2024
Offshore wind power farms planned along Sweden's Baltic Sea coast could have a negative impact on its defence capabilities, the country's defence minister said Friday. According to a study done by the Swedish Armed Forces and published by public broadcaster SVT, more than a dozen planned projects in vast areas of the Baltic Sea could significantly disrupt sensors used by the military. The towers and rotating blades of the wind mills emit radar echoes and produce other interference, including und ... read more

WIND DAILY
WIND DAILY
Perseverance surveys its path as it ascends Jezero Crater

Red Rocks with Green Spots at 'Serpentine Rapids'

NASA selects crew for 45-day simulated Mars mission in Houston

Potential microbial habitats in Martian ice

WIND DAILY
Water extraction from Moon rocks advances for astronaut support

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer will map and analyze moon water

Gateway HALO unit to support vital space science on lunar missions

China progresses in full-scale efforts for manned Moon landing by 2030

WIND DAILY
NASA and SpaceX Set for Europa Clipper Launch on October 14

NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon

Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate

NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon

WIND DAILY
Optimal Learning Rates Revealed in New Study on Adaptation

Microbes thrive on iron in oxygen-free environments

SwRI and JPL study reveals liquid brine flows on airless worlds

It's twins mystery of famed brown dwarf solved

WIND DAILY
Russia launches record 55 satellites, including 2 Iranian-made

SpaceX pushes back launch of 20 Starlink satellites in late scrub

Kremlin denies report of Musk-Putin secret talks

SpaceX sends 22 Starlink satellites into orbit in record-setting launch

WIND DAILY
Chinese space station crew returns after six months in orbit

Shenzhou XIX Crew Joins Tiangong Space Station for Crew Rotation

Three-person crew enters China's Tiangong space station

China's only woman spaceflight engineer in crew for 'dream' mission

WIND DAILY
Illuminating ancient origins of 4BN year-old Asteroid Ryugu

Hera's CubeSats call home from Deep Space

NRL captures stunning images of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

Meteorite impact shaped early Earth and promoted life

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.