Questions & Answers

Hybrid parks, combined parks, energy parks - there are many names! When we talk about Energy parks, we mean developing our existing wind farms and adding other types of energy, such as solar power, and complementing them with the possibility of storing energy in the form of batteries or green hydrogen.

We want to help drive the development of efficient and sustainable solutions. Therefore, we are looking at how we can develop our parks from pure wind farms to energy parks where, in addition to wind power, we also add other technologies.

Wind and solar power are perfect complements to each other! When it's sunny there's usually not much wind, and when it's windy the sun rarely shines. By combining different types of energy, we can achieve a more consistent electricity production and thus deliver renewable energy every day, all year round - regardless of the weather. When we also add battery storage or green hydrogen production, we can get an even greater energy benefit from the park.

One benefit of Energy Parks is that we get a more consistent electricity production when different types of energy work together. It is also more efficient from a cost and land use perspective to allow different resources to share the same infrastructure, such as access to the electricity grid.

By storing energy when not all the electricity produced is needed, we can deliver it to Svenska Kraftnät as a support service when electricity production is insufficient. By storing electricity produced when it is cheap and selling it when it is more expensive, we help to support and ensure the balance of the power system.

The blades of a wind turbine are shaped like propellers that are driven around by the wind. For the rotor blades of a wind turbine to start spinning, the wind must be at least three to four metres per second. At around 12-14 metres per second, the turbines are at full power. The rotor blades capture energy from the movement of the wind, as opposed to a motor which uses energy to create movement. The rotor sits on a shaft connected to a generator that converts the spinning motion into electricity. The generator and other sensitive equipment are protected in the nacelle at the top of the wind turbine tower.

All energy consumed by humans has an environmental impact that should be weighed against the benefits it provides. Compared to other forms of energy, wind power has very little negative impact and is becoming increasingly efficient. With the right wind conditions, onshore wind power also has the lowest total cost per kilowatt hour produced when it comes to new construction of electricity generation in Europe. Wind power is therefore one of the most important types of energy if we are to succeed in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and achieving our common climate goals, while maintaining competitive electricity prices.

To reach the goal of a 100 per cent renewable electricity system, Swedish wind power needs to be about the same size as hydro power, which corresponds to an annual production of about 65 terawatt hours. Depending on technological developments, it is estimated that there will be around 4,000-6,000 wind turbines by 2040. This can be compared with Denmark, which already had 6,000 wind turbines in 2019 with an area the size of Jämtland.

All objects higher than 45 meters must be light-marked in accordance with the Swedish Transport Agency's regulations and general advice. In a wind farm where the total height of the wind turbines is 150 meters or higher, the wind turbines that form the outermost boundary of the park must be marked with a high-intensity white, flashing light, while the inner wind turbines are marked with a medium-intensity, steady red light. The lighting can sometimes be perceived as disturbing for nearby residents. Studies and investigations are ongoing to solv this issue.

Ice throw occurs when ice forms on a wind turbine's rotor blades and is thrown away. In order to manage the risk of the ice throwing causing damage, safety distances are used between wind farms and areas where people live. In addition to safety distances, there are also de-icing systems that heat the rotor blades and reduce ice formation. It is most common for ice coating to occur on wind turbines located in mountain areas, but it can also occur further south.

All electricity produced from our renewable parks, regardless of energy type, goes into a common electricity grid that is distributed throughout the country or exported. The price is determined on the Nordic electricity exchange Nord Pool, which is a trading place for electricity producers and electricity traders. The electricity price is set there - hour by hour - every day of the year. Electricity grid prices and taxes are regulated by the government. Just like any other trade, it is governed by supply and demand. If the supply is poor, for example during dry years when the hydropower plants have little water in the reservoirs or when the nuclear power plants cannot produce at full, the price immediately goes up. As our electricity market is connected to the electricity market in Europe, the electricity price is also affected by what happens there.

No electricity production is completely free of environmental impact, but wind power has very little negative impact compared to other types of energy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has studied different electricity generation technologies and calculated the life cycle emissions of greenhouse gases. Onshore wind power is the electricity generation technology with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions based on a life cycle analysis. The emissions from wind power arise mainly during its manufacture. Globally, the total carbon footprint can be repaid in at least six months.

When we plan new wind farms, the impact on the natural environment is a key issue and sometimes determines whether we get a permit to build wind power. For onshore wind power, it is primarily the risk of impact on birds, bats and the reindeer industry that can be decisive. We work continuously to adapt our projects to minimise our impact on biodiversity as much as possible. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation estimates that wind power can be more than quadrupled without compromising biodiversity and species richness.

A modern wind turbine in operation today can produce electricity for about 2,000 households annually. In general, it can be said that a wind turbine produces about 80 times more energy than is consumed in its manufacture, construction, maintenance, and demolition. In just 7-8 months, a wind turbine built in Sweden today has produced the same amount of energy that was used to manufacture, dismantle, and recycle it.

A wind turbine generates about 0.15 kg of microplastics per year, which in total corresponds to about 650 kg from all of Sweden's wind turbines. The figure should of course be zero, but the emissions are vanishingly small compared to, for example, road traffic emissions of 8,000 tonnes of microplastics per year. A report from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has mapped important sources of microplastics. The report does not mention wind power as such a source.

When the turbines reach the end of their life, after about 25-30 years, they are dismantled component by component. About 85 per cent of the wind turbine is made of steel and iron, which are currently recyclable materials. The blades consist of thermoset composites, the same as those used in leisure boats, for example, and intensive development is under way to find sustainable solutions for their disposal.

According to the environmental permit, developers of a wind farm are required to set aside money for decommissioning the farm before construction starts. This ensures that the area can be restored in a good way.

If you want to know more about wind power, there is a lot of useful information on these pages:

• Swedish Energy Agency
• Svenska kraftnät
• Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
• Vindbrukskollen (in Swedish)
• Vindval (in Swedish)

As a land owner, you have the option of leasing land to us if you have a favorable windward position on your land and if the land is separated from housing/urban areas. The lifespan of wind turbines is 30 years and since we continue to own our turbines after commissioning, it is us you will continue to meet and keep a dialogue with throughout the lifespan. Therefore, we are particularly keen that our projects should be long-term sustainable and profitable. If you want to investigate the conditions for establishing wind power on your land, you are welcome to contact us and together we can look at the conditions for your particular land.

Solar cells convert the sun's rays into electrical energy. When the sun shines on the solar cell, the top side becomes negatively charged and the bottom side becomes positively charged, generating direct current. In order to use the electricity, it is converted into alternating current in an inverter. You connect a number of solar cells to a solar panel. A solar panel that is 1.0 x 1.65 m consists of 60 solar modules. Roughly calculated, it is usually said that an average installation of approx. 25 panels (an area of ​​approx. 43 m2) produces approx. 6,200 kWh in a year, but this of course varies depending on the number of hours of sunshine, the position of the roof, the slope, etc.

Solar power is a perfect complement to wind power! When it's sunny there's usually not much wind, and when it's windy the sun doesn’t usually shine. By combining solar and wind power, we can achieve more consistent electricity production and thus deliver renewable energy every day, all year round - regardless of the weather.

t is easy to think that it takes constantly radiant sunshine to produce solar power. But really, daylight is all that is needed to generate electricity. For the solar installation to be worth the investment, there should be at least 800 hours of sunshine per year. In southern Sweden, the number of hours of sunshine is 1100, which is as much as in solar cell-dense Germany. The most solar radiation is along the coasts and on Öland and Gotland. So should the rest of Sweden ignore solar? No, on the contrary because it is about the location of the solar cell installation. A well-placed plant in northern Sweden can actually produce more than a less well-placed one in the south.

All electricity produced by our renewable parks, regardless of the energy source, enters a common grid and is distributed nationally or exported. The price is determined on the Nordic electricity exchange Nord Pool, which is a trading place for electricity producers and electricity traders. It sets the price of electricity - hour by hour - every day of the year. Grid prices and taxes are regulated by the government. Like any other trade, it is driven by supply and demand. If supply is poor, for example in dry years when hydro plants have little water in their reservoirs or when nuclear plants cannot produce at full capacity, the price immediately goes up. As our electricity market is closely linked to the electricity market in Europe, the price of electricity is also affected by what happens there.

All energy production results in some form of environmental impact. In terms of the life cycle of solar cells, the biggest environmental impact comes from the manufacturing process itself. However, when solar cells produce electricity, they contribute to several environmental benefits.

Manufacturing solar cells is quite energy-intensive and they are often produced in countries where much of the energy comes from coal power, such as Germany and China. However, within three years, the energy required for manufacturing has been offset by the fossil-free solar electricity produced by the solar panels. In addition, the technology to recycle solar panels is constantly evolving. At Rabbalshede Kraft, we continuously evaluate our suppliers and always strive to make the best choices of suppliers based on quality, labour conditions and environmental impact.

As a landowner, you have the option to lease land to us if it has the right conditions to produce solar power. We continue to own our solar parks after they become operational, so you will continue to meet and dialogue with us throughout their lifetime. Therefore, we are particularly keen to ensure that our projects are sustainable and profitable in the long term. If you want to investigate the conditions for establishing solar power on your land, you are welcome to contact so we can look at the conditions for your particular land together.

Hydrogen is classified into four main categories: grey, brown, blue, and green. Grey and brown hydrogen are the two most common variants, which are produced from fossil fuels and have high CO2 emissions. Blue hydrogen has lower carbon dioxide emissions as the production process is based on fossil fuels combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce the carbon footprint. Green hydrogen, on the other hand, is completely climate neutral and has no carbon dioxide emissions as it is produced from renewable energy. The raw materials are water and electricity from renewable energy, which are split in an electrolyser into the main product hydrogen and the by-products oxygen and heat.

Green hydrogen is versatile and can be used with many different technologies and in many different industries. In addition, it offers the opportunity to transform sectors where direct electrification is not possible. Steel, cement, agriculture, and transport are four examples of sectors where green hydrogen can play a particularly important role in reducing CO2 emissions.

By looking at different technologies that improve our way of utilising energy, we want to open new paths for our necessary climate and energy transition. In the transition to a fossil-free society, we see hydrogen as an enabler for the necessary interconnection of energy, industry, and the transport sector. In addition to reducing emissions on Sweden's roads and from its industries, this initiative would also increase the flexibility of our wind farms. By varying between the production of electricity and hydrogen, we can help balance the electricity grid, which is needed in southern Sweden from both a grid owner and industry perspective.