The Swedish Government has approved permits for two new offshore wind farms while rejecting 11 others, citing national defence and security concerns as the primary reason.
Ministers also greenlit one large onshore wind project, aiming to balance electricity needs with military priorities in strategically sensitive waters.
The approved offshore projects are Fyrskeppet, developed by Skyborn Renewables in the southern Bothnian Sea off Söderhamn, with the permit covering about half the 187 turbines the developer had sought, and Vidar, a floating Vattenfall project in the northern Skagerrak off Sweden’s west coast, featuring 75 turbines and 2 GW capacity.
Additionally, the Hästliden onshore wind expansion, the latest phase of the Markbygden complex west of Piteå, northern Sweden, backed by Norway’s State-owned Statkraft, received the green light.
Together, the offshore approvals could deliver up to 19 TWh of electricity annually, according to the government.
Eleven other offshore proposals in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bothnian Sea and the waters off western Sweden were blocked primarily due to defence concerns.
This continues a pattern set in November 2024, when Sweden rejected 13 planned Baltic Sea projects totalling around 30 GW over risks to military operations, particularly near Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave. The military had warned that such installations could hinder Sweden’s ability to defend itself amid heightened regional threats.
Many rejected projects, some among the largest proposed, had been in development for years, leading to frustration and financial losses for developers who invested millions only to see permits denied late in the process.
Critics note that several of the latest blocked sites lie in waters facing Denmark, Norway or Finland rather than Russia directly, raising questions about the consistency of the security rationale.
Nevertheless, the government maintains that wind infrastructure in these maritime zones could still interfere with defence systems, radar or naval operations.
In the same announcement, ministers revealed plans to overhaul the permitting system. The current “open door” process, which allows companies to propose projects in chosen areas, would be replaced by a more structured auction-based model.
Writing in an op-ed for the Swedish daily Expressen on July 16, 2026, climate minister Romina Pourmokhtari, energy minister Ebba Busch and finance minister Elisabeth Svantesson described the existing system as resembling a lottery, leaving developers uncertain whether their chosen locations are even viable. They wrote that the decision “puts an end to a long period of uncertainty”, explaining that future auctions would let the government pre-identify suitable zones before competitive bidding for construction rights.
Sweden faces pressure to meet EU green targets while prioritising energy security and military readiness following its NATO accession in March 2024.
Offshore wind has lagged in Sweden compared to neighbours like Denmark and Germany, partly due to these repeated security-related blocks.
Offshore wind is facing headwinds across Europe. Rising costs, supply chain bottlenecks, inflation in materials and vessels and higher interest rates and fewer subsidies have made many projects uneconomic. Several major developers have written down billions and scaled back ambitions. Intermittency remains a core issue as offshore turbines often deliver far below nameplate capacity during calm periods, requiring expensive backup from gas, nuclear or hydro. Grid congestion and the infrastructure needed to integrate variable renewable energy are adding further delays and costs.
French President Emmanuel Macron has attributed the major blackout that hit the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025 to Spain’s heavy dependence on renewable energy sources. https://t.co/qvPFLVw8BE
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 12, 2026
