Gabrielsberget: Catching the winds of the north

“Here in Nordmaling, we found the perfect spot for large-scaled wind power generation,” says Chief Operating Officer Mikael Kyrk of Svevind AB. He is referring to one of Sweden’s largest wind farms, Gabrielsberget, which is being built high on a mountain overlooking the Gulf of Bothnia in northern Sweden.

So far, 20 wind mills have been erected at an altitude of about 200 metres above the sea, in the east coast landscape of northern Sweden. The farm will soon be expanded with 20 more turbines. NIB has participated in the financing of the project with two loans totalling EUR 68 million.

Operating in a cold climate

“This is an outstanding location for a wind farm,” Mr Kyrk continues. “The close proximity to the sea in combination with the high altitude gives us very high wind speeds for a long time of the year. Furthermore, the cold temperatures in these northern parts of the country contributes to the efficiency of the power generation, since colder air with higher density is heavier and therefore gives higher production output,” he explains.

But the northern location also adds some challenges to wind power generation, as the cold weather during the winter months can cause the rotor blades to suffer from heavy icing.

“This has been foreseen at Gabrielsberget,” says Mr Kyrk. “The turbines are equipped with the latest defrosting technology, the so-called cold-climate package that makes it possible to run the wind mills in very difficult weather conditions and still achieve good production”.

Excellent environmental project

Mr Kyrk explains that the existing energy infrastructure close to the community of Nordmaling was another crucial factor when deciding on the location.

“This area is already on the energy map, which makes it possible for us to deliver electricity direct to the grid. And a good thing about northern Sweden is that we have a lot of hydropower, and wind and hydropower balances each other very well. When the water levels in the hydropower plants are at their lowest during the winter seasons, the production from the wind mills is at its highest, so we are expecting to achieve a good harmony.”

The negative effects of wind energy systems are usually small and local, but even so, aspects like noise and impact on surroundings and wildlife must be taken into account in projects of this magnitude.

“From Gabrielsberget, it is quite a good distance to where people live, so the disturbance is not so big,” says Mr Kyrk. “We also have a good relationship with the Sami people who herds reindeers in the area. All in all, I think this is a very positive project from an energy supply point of view as well as for the people who live and have their income here,” he concludes.

For NIB’s part, Gabrielsberget is a high mandate project with an excellent environmental rating. When the wind farm is completed and in operation, Sweden will enjoy an additional generation of about 260 gigawatt hours of green, emission-free electricity annually. This is expected to result in an indirect CO2 emission decrease by crowding out energy production from fossil fuels.

Both of the NIB loans are guaranteed by KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, and allocated under NIB’s climate change, energy efficiency and renewable energy loan facility, CLEERE.