Sweden will need more than twice as much electricity in just over 20 years to cope with the green transformation of industry. Energy companies make that assessment in a new forecast that has been turned up.
It’s going far too slowly, says CEO Åsa Pettersson.
Today, 140 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity are used in Sweden each year. When Sweden is to be fossil-free by the year 2045, as much as 330 TWh may be needed, i.e. more than twice as much. This is shown by a new forecast from the industry association Energiföretagen.
All powers are needed. We must clear the obstacles for everything, and create acceptance in society for this expansion, says Åsa Pettersson, CEO of Energiföretagen, who is calling for a broad political agreement for increased electricity production.
“Project Apollo”
Replacing fossil fuels requires electrification. But it’s not just about building new electricity production, but also about keeping existing power plants running so they don’t reach the age limit. In total, according to the analysis, there is a gap of 290 TWh that needs to be filled. That’s as much as roughly 35 large nuclear reactors or 10,000 wind turbines.
It is a type of moon landing for us as a country, says Åsa Pettersson.
What does it look like at the moment to manage this?
It’s going too slow, way too slow. So we need to speed up the expansion of production and electricity grids if we are to make it through this.
New industry requires a lot of electricity
According to the energy companies, simply expanding the electricity grids until 2045 will cost 1000 billion. Added to that are enormous sums to both maintain existing power plants and build new ones.
Most of the increase is due to two large projects in Norrland to make fossil-free steel, Hybrit and H2GS. They will require around 100 TWh a year. Today’s electricity surplus in Norrland risks turning into a large deficit in 25 years.
If we build today, this gap will be bridged. Otherwise, these industrial projects will disappear. So we have to make sure that we expand energy production at the rate that the transition needs.
But much of the need is due to new industrial investments in steel, hydrogen, fertilizer and other things. Do we really have to expand the electrical system for that?
Do we have to reach the climate goal in 2045?, answers Åsa Pettersson rhetorically, and continues:
We have set that as a goal as a world and as a country, and we will reach the Paris Agreement. We are going to change all industries, and the easiest way is electrification.
Source: svt/newshub
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