How wind power grew in Sweden
Sweden's state research programme opened its first trial plant, Kalkugnen near Älvkarleby, in April 1977. Vattenfall's 2 MW Näsudden turbine on Gotland entered service in 1983, among the largest in the world at the time. Investment aid from 1991 brought smaller turbines, and Vattenfall returned to Gotland to place them along the coast. Bockstigen, about 4 km off Gotland, became Sweden's first offshore wind farm in 1998, with five 500 kW turbines.
Early building was led by state-owned Vattenfall and the utility Sydkraft. A certificate system began in 2003. Its early money went mainly to bioenergy, and later mainly to wind. In 2020 parliament decided that the system will close in 2035. Since 1 August 2009 a wind permit has needed the approval of the host municipality. Capital came increasingly from abroad: foreign owners held about 36% of wind in 2016, and the industry body projected 66% for 2024.
Sweden had about 18,608 MW of wind in mid-2026. Wind generated 38.9 TWh in 2025, about 23% of the country's generation, and the two northern bidding zones hold most of the capacity. New building has nearly stopped. Turbine orders were 29 MW in 2025, and municipalities vetoed 16 of 23 onshore projects decided in the first half of 2026. Offshore, the government refused 11 projects of about 30 GW on defence grounds in July 2026.
Sources: Vattenfall · Energimyndigheten · offshoreWIND.biz · Riksdagen · SVT · Green Power Sweden · Green Power Sweden · Energiföretagen
Where Sweden's power comes from, 2025
| Source | Share of electricity |
|---|---|
| Hydro | 40.1% |
| Nuclear | 27.4% |
| Wind | 22.8% |
| Bioenergy | 5.8% |
| Solar | 2.6% |
| Other fossil fuels | 1.2% |
| Gas | 0.1% |
Wind farms in Sweden
We track 1,600 wind farms in Sweden: 18.4 GW operating and 142.3 GW under construction, consented or planned, with 114.0 GW of it offshore. Each one's owners, turbines and status are in the Wind app.
Electricity data: Ember yearly electricity data (CC BY 4.0). Wind farms: national registers and Global Energy Monitor; see data sources.
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