Kävlinge residents oppose municipality’s plans to stop wind power in Öresund
Residents of Kävlinge and Lomma are concerned about high electricity prices and climate change. According to a survey conducted by Novus on behalf of Eolus, eight of ten are in favor of wind power and an equally high proportion want Kävlinge Municipality to approve an environmental assessment for the Sjollen wind farm in Öresund.
Eolus wants to construct the Sjollen wind farm in Öresund – an offshore facility with 23 planned wind turbines and an estimated renewable electricity production of 1.1–1.3 TWh per year. This corresponds to about 10% of Skåne’s entire current electricity consumption, and would be a significant addition to a growing region burdened by high electricity prices.
“The often polarized debate on wind power can lead politicians to believe that resistance is greater than it actually is. This has been shown by a number of surveys across Sweden. Getting the views of Kävlinge residents on record, that they want us to proceed with the Sjollen project, feels great. We know that this is one of few offshore wind farms in Sweden that can actually be built and connected to the grid by as early as 2027,” says Anna Lundsgård, Head of Offshore at Eolus.
Extensive environmental studies
In recent years, Eolus has conducted extensive studies in preparation for a permit application for the Sjollen wind farm. The company will soon submit the application, which will be reviewed by the Swedish Land and Environment Court in accordance with the environmental legislation. As the process is designed, the municipalities concerned – in this case Malmö and Kävlinge – need to approve the wind farm being tried by the court. Should the municipalities decide to use their right of veto, however, the application will be rejected. Politicians in Malmö announced at an early stage that they were positive to the plans, while politicians in Kävlinge made it clear during the consultation process that they wanted to stop the wind farm.
For this reason, Eolus assigned market research company Novus to conduct a survey of what Kävlinge residents think. And it shows that the public in Kävlinge sees a need for renewable electricity production and wants the Sjollen project to proceed.
Many in favor of wind power
The Novus survey was conducted in March-April 2023 and shows that nearly eight of ten Kävlinge residents think the Land and Environment Court should decide on the suitability of building a wind farm north of Sjollen. Kävlinge Municipality is governed by three parties – the Moderate Party (M), Sweden Democrats (SD) and Christian Democrats (KD) – and all parties have communicated that they want to stop the wind farm. However, a clear majority of the Kävlinge residents who support the governing parties is in favor of the plans for the offshore wind farm being reviewed. Only 28% of the respondents who say they would vote for M, SD or KD if a municipal election was held today think that the municipality should use its veto to stop the wind farm. The corresponding figure for the opposition parties is 7%.
“Among both young and older people, both women and men, we see that an overwhelming majority are in favor of reviewing the possibility of safe renewable electricity production by a wind farm in Öresund. This is naturally very gratifying and shows that Kävlinge residents are very eager to see lower electricity prices and a green future,” says Anna Lundsgård.
In the neighboring municipality of Lomma, even more people are in favor of the plans. Residents of both Kävlinge and Lomma are generally in favor of wind power (79% in Kävlinge and 82% in Lomma) and the vast majority see a need to increase electricity production in southern Sweden over the next five years.
