Swedish energy major Vattenfall has announced a major investment programme worth more than €4 billion, with wind and hydroelectricity development expected to form the major part.
Vattenfall aims to develop projects to increase renewable generation by the company in Sweden by approximately 10 TWh by 2016 with an investment of SEK 40 billion (€4.27 billion).
While the major part of the potential projects are expected to be wind generation, hydro plants are expected to contribute 1 to 2 TWh. Biomass projects are expected to contribute a further 0.5 TWh.
The move follows a recent government bill on the future of its renewable electricity certificate system, in which the Swedish government proposed a target of 17 TWh by 2016. “An important precondition for the implementation of the projects is that parliament approves the support system, as it is estimated that it will only be possible to realise some of the hydro power projects on a commercial basis without electricity certificates,” said a statement from the company.
Parts of the transmission network must also be reinforced in order to execute the plans, the responsibility of the transmission net operator Svenska Kraftnät, said Vattenfall.