Faced with crucial national defense issues, Sweden has made a shocking decision: to abandon 13 wind turbine projects in the Baltic Sea. This choice illustrates an increasingly strong tension between geopolitical security and ecological transition.
Offshore wind power faces strategic opposition
Sweden, in search of renewable energy to support its growing needs, canceled 13 wind farm projects in the Baltic Sea at the beginning of November 2024. The government followed the recommendations of the armed forces, which deemed these projects incompatible with national defense imperatives.. According to an official statement, “ radar and underwater interference generated by wind turbine blades would seriously affect threat detection systems, including submarines ».
This choice is explained by the strategic role of the Baltic Sea, where Sweden shares maritime borders with several NATO members and is close to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The armed forces insist: preserving surveillance capacity is vital to detect missiles or submarine incursions.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Baltic region has become a theater of heightened geopolitical tensions. “ The current security situation demands that we prioritize our defense “, said Defense Minister Pål Jonson. This posture is based on recent lessons from the Ukrainian conflict, where energy infrastructure became priority targets for Russian forces.
The proximity of Kaliningrad, a Russian military stronghold, makes the area particularly sensitive. The wind farms could have tampered with Sweden’s sensor systems, crucial for monitoring ballistic and cruise missiles. Sweden, now a member of NATO, views these capabilities as a pillar of regional collective security.
A hard blow for the Swedish energy transition
The decision to abandon these projects compromises Sweden’s ambition to double its electricity consumption by 2045 to reach 300 TWh, largely thanks to renewable energy. Of 24 offshore projects initially considered, only 11 remain in the running. Svensk Vindkraft, the wind energy association, denounced an approach that it considers “too restrictive”.
A compromise could be found through initiatives like the Poseidon project, planned on the southwest coast of Sweden, far from strategic areas. However, the ecological transition will have to deal with increasingly significant geopolitical constraints.
If the cancellation of projects in the Baltic Sea meets security needs for Sweden, it raises questions about the future of renewable energies in sensitive regions.
Sweden is now exploring technological alternatives to reduce radar interference, but their development will take time.
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