SWEDEN Renewable Energy Fact Sheet

Policy Background
A European energy policy must pursue the objective of a sustainable, competitive and secure
supply of energy. If the EU continues on its present course, this key objective will not be
attained. In January 2007, the European Commission adopted an energy policy for Europe.
This was supported by several documents on different aspects of energy and included an
action plan to meet the major energy challenges Europe faces. Each European citizen must
be informed of these challenges and the role they should play in meeting them.
Renewable energies help combat climate change while increasing security of supply.

Key Issues
Sweden is moving away from its RES-E target. In absolute figures, RES-E production has
decreased between 1997 and 2004, mainly due to a lower level of large-scale hydro
production. Other RES like biowaste, solid biomass, off-shore wind and PV have shown
however significant growth. In Sweden, a comprehensive policy mix exists with tradable green
certificates as the key mechanism. This system creates both an incentive to invest in the most
cost-effective solutions, and uncertainty for investment decisions due to variable prices.

Current national RES target

The RES-E target from the EU Directive for Sweden is 60% of gross electricity consumption
by 2010. The Swedish Parliament decided to aim for an increase in RES by 10 TWh between
2002 and 2010, which corresponds to a RES-E share of around 51% in 2010. This deviates
from the target originally set by the Directive. In June 2006 the Swedish target was amended
to increase the production of RES-E by 17 TWh from 2002 and 2016. Sweden has set a
biofuels target of 5.75% in 2010, directly in line with the EU Biofuels Directive. Other than the
target of 3% by the end of 2005, no interim targets have been set at a national level.

Progress towards meeting national targets

The Swedish share of RES-E for gross electricity consumption decreased from 49.1% in
1997, to 45.56% in 2004, to approximately 38% at present time.
In 2005, biofuels by energy content stood at 2.23%, compared to the target of 3%.

Main supporting policies

Swedish RES-E policy is composed of the following mechanisms:
o Tradable Green Certificates were introduced in 2003. The Renewable Energy with
green certificates bill that came into force on 1 January 2007 shifts the quota
obligation from electricity users to electricity suppliers.
o The environmental premium tariff for wind power is a transitory measure and will be
progressively phased out by 2009 for onshore wind.
Since 2005, renewable fuels must make up at least 3% of all petrol and diesel consumption
for transport operations. A tax relief system is currently in place but will be amended following
the implementation of the EU taxation of energy products Directive. Green taxes such as the
carbon dioxide tax promote biofuels in an indirect way. In addition, the Swedish government is
currently increasing the number of alternative fuel pumps and ensured that 36% of the
vehicles it used in 2006 were fuelled, either wholly or in part, by biogas, ethanol or electricity.
In Sweden, RES-H is supported in an indirect way by raising taxes on fuels. Biofuels, solid
waste and peat are tax-exempt for most energy uses. Investment grants are available for
solar heating installations.

Key renewable energy statistics

Electricity from RES: Between 1997 and 2004, RES-E decreased from 72 097 GWh to
68 142 GWh. Hydro power accounted for an important part of this, with 60 122 GWh in 2004.
Very little growth in capacity and a decrease in production at an average rate of 2% by year
(in the large-scale hydro sector) took place between 1997 and 2004. With 6 614 GWh, solid

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SWEDEN Renewable Energy Fact Sheet

biomass covered just under 10% of the RES-E market in 2004, but grew at a slower rate than
biowaste (14% annually between 1997 and 2004, compared to 25% for biowaste). On-shore
wind totalled 784 GWh in 2004 and increased its production at an average rate of 21% per
year (between 1997 and 2004). The total installed capacity for wind power reached 492 MW
by the end of 2005.
Electricity generation from renewable energy sources by type (GWh)
20,000 Biogas Solid biomass
Biowaste Geothermal
18,000 Hydro small-scale Hydro large-scale
PV Wind onshore
Electricity generation [GWh/year]

16,000 Wind offshore

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: European Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm
Biofuels: Biofuel production in Sweden totalled 84 ktoe in 2005. The majority of biofuel
production is currently bioethanol, with a much smaller input from biodiesel. Sweden currently
ranks the second highest in the EU25 in terms of its bioethanol production. Biodiesel
production is increasing in Sweden. The production capacity in 2006 stood at 52 kt per year,
compared to 12 kt per year in 2005.
Heating and cooling: The use of biomass for RES-H has grown by almost 40% compared with
1990, and has stabilised between 1997 and 2004. Current use is high and exceeds 5 Mtoe.
Very strong growth has been observed for geothermal heat pumps since 1997. Sweden is the
EU leader in heat pumps installed.

Penetration 1997 Penetration 2004 Av. Annual growth

(ktoe) (ktoe) [%]
Biomass heat 5409 5085 -1%
Solar thermal heat 5 6 4%
Geothermal heat
incl. heat pumps 0 286 -

Source: European Commission

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm

Good example: Project "AGROPTI-GAS"

The project consisted in building an integrated biogas (anaerobic digestion)/upgrading gas
plant and bus filling station in Vsteras (Sweden). It has been developed mainly by a waste
company (Vxtkraft) in cooperation with local farmers and authorities and provides a
satisfactory solution to both environmental and fuel transport needs of this region. The biogas
plant treats three types of substrates: organic household waste (14 000 tons/y), grease trap
from the food industry (4 000 tons/y) and agriculture energy (ley crop silage, 5 000 tons/y).
The capacity of the plant is about 23 000 tons/y and it generates about 350 M3/hour raw gas
at 65% methane (CH4). The gas is upgraded to above 97% CH4 and is pumped to a
compressing station (350 bars) located at a bus depot in the city of Vsteras. The station can
supply 40 buses. The by-products of the biogas plant: liquid digested (15 000 tons/y) and
solids (6 500 tons/y) are spread on farmland by 17 local farmers to fertilise the ground. The

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SWEDEN Renewable Energy Fact Sheet

full plant system has operated successfully since August 2005 (total project cost: EUR 16
million, EC support: EUR 3.5 million). The estimated pay-back time is of about 7-8 years. This
short period is due to the significant direct financial support (in total 50%) and the high
incomes from the biogas sold to the local bus company (about EUR 0.65 /M3) and fees
received for bio waste (EUR 45 /ton). Concerning the environmental impact, the life cycle
analyses concludes with a positive impact which is estimated at around EUR 430 000 /year.

For further information

To find out more about renewables, go to: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/index_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/index_en.html
To find out more about the current situation of renewables in the Member States, go to
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/electricity_member_states_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm
To find out more about support measures, go to
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/support_electricity_en.htm
To find out about a project or contact an energy agency in your region, go to
http://www.managenergy.net/emap/maphome.html
Further fact sheets on Sweden and other Member States can be found on:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/facts_en.htm

What is meant by..?

RES: Renewable energy sources
RES-E: Electricity production from renewable energy sources
RES-H: Production of heat and cold from renewable energy sources
Biofuels: Mainly includes biodiesel and bioethanol
Biomass: Includes solid biomass, biowaste and biogas
CHP: Combined Heat and Power
GWh: gigawatt-hour
Kt: kilotonnes
ktoe: Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent
Mtoe: Million tonnes of oil equivalent
MW: megawatt
PV: Photo-voltaic technology for the production of electricity from solar energy
TWh: terawattheat
Disclaimer
Views expressed in this document have not been adopted or in any way approved by the European
Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commissions views.
The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document, nor does it
accept responsibility for any use made thereof.

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