Wind power is gaining ground in Sweden and electricity production from wind power increased by nearly 45 percent in 2015. During the year, nine counties had more electricity production from wind power than from conventional thermal power.

Nearly all municipalities with power-generating wind farms increased their production. Pajala Municipality accounted for the largest percentage increase; electricity production grew many times over thanks to a major investment in new establishment of wind farms. Ockelbo Municipality accounted for the largest production in actual figures. The municipality produced almost 840 000 MWh of electricity with the help of wind power, which corresponds to an annual electricity consumption for roughly 52 000 one- or two-dwelling houses.

Regional differences in energy use

In 2015, total energy use in Stockholm County was 47 000 GWh, which corresponds to 12 percent of total energy use in Sweden. Energy use in Stockholm County was 21 GWh per person, by inhabitant, which corresponds to only two percent of total use in Sweden.

Norrbotten County has the opposite situation. There, total energy use amounted to 26 000 GWh, which is about 6 percent of total energy use in Sweden. Energy use per inhabitant was 106 GWh in total per person, which corresponds to ten percent of total energy use in Sweden.

There are several explanations for the fact that Stockholm County has high energy use in total but low use per person, while Norrbotten County, on the contrary, has relatively low energy use in total but a high level of use per person. One explanation is that Stockholm has a large population, while Norrbotten’s population is small. Another explanation is that Stockholm has little industry and is more focused on the service sector, which is not equally energy-intensive. Norrbotten County, on the other hand, has large energy-intensive industries. The industrial sector accounted for nearly 70 percent of total energy use in the county. In Stockholm, the industrial sector accounted for less than ten percent of total energy use. Instead, the transport and service sector accounted for the largest proportion of energy use in the county.

Source: Statistics Sweden
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