SWEDEN WINNING SCANDINAVIAN WIND RACE

Norway Losing Out to Sweden in $6 Billion Wind-Power Boom

Jesper Starn, Sept. 9, 2014 (Bloomberg News)

“Divergent tax policies mean Norway risks missing out on most of a $6 billion wind-power boom while neighboring Sweden benefits…Norway, which aims to triple wind capacity by the end of the decade, has erected one turbine for every seven installed in Sweden since the countries signed a pact to share renewable production two years ago…[I]n an industry where jobs will triple by 2030…Statkraft AS, Norway’s state-owned power company, didn’t build any wind projects in its home country in the eight years through 2013, [but] spent as much as 7.5 billion kroner ($1.2 billion) on turbines in Sweden…Norwegian consumers have paid about 1.8 billion Norwegian kroner into the system. Those costs will rise to as much as 40 billion kroner over 15 years at current prices, with most of the money going to producers in Sweden…Sweden’s wind output rose 38 percent to an unprecedented 9.9 terawatt-hours last year…Norway gets 97 percent of its electricity from hydropower, [but] joined the system to boost security of supply when cold, dry weather draws on water reserves…” click here for more

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