Swedish state forest owner Sveaskog has teamed up with developer Alight in a strategic partnership to develop 2GW of solar power capacity over the next five years.
The initial projects under this collaboration include a solar park spanning approximately 150 hectares in central Sweden and another covering 70 hectares in the southern region.
These projects are located in the electricity areas SE3 and SE4, regions with significant electricity deficits and a high demand for renewable energy expansion.
As part of this long-term partnership, Alight will take on the role of developer, builder, and co-owner of the solar arrays on Sveaskog’s land. Sveaskog, in turn, will co-invest in the solar parks, contributing between 30% and 49% of the capital.
Sveaskog’s Chief Executive, Erik Brandsma, says: “Sveaskog’s mission is to create value from forest and land.
“Investing in solar power on our land is natural for us as a large landowner and a way to contribute to the energy transition and the future need for fossil-free energy sources. Alight will be a stable partner for us in this work.”
Sveaskog holds ownership of 14% of Sweden’s forests, totalling around 3.4m hectares, of which 3m hectares are productive forest land.
Converting 10,000 hectares of Sveaskog’s land—equivalent to 0.2% of its total holdings, or 0.04% of Sweden’s total forest land—into solar parks could potentially generate approximately 5GW of renewable energy, more than doubling Sweden’s current installed solar capacity.
“Solar power is a fast and affordable solution to combat the climate crisis, especially given Sweden’s increasing demand for renewable electricity,” comments Alight’s chief executive, Harald Överholm.
“We are impressed by Sveaskog’s high ambitions in sustainability and look forward to jointly build and manage solar projects that strive for the best balance between ecological, economic and social values.”
