'Offshore wind poses unacceptable risks': military hits back in Sweden row
Sweden took shock decision to reject 30GW of planned Baltic Sea offshore wind farms over Russia fears
Rejected offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea posed “unacceptable risks” to Sweden’s ability to defend itself amid increased threat from Russia and its enclave of Kaliningrad, said the country’s military.
The Swedish government sparked fury and confusion this month as it took a shock decision to reject 30GW of planned Baltic Sea offshore wind farms including some of the world’s largest projects over security concerns.
It said these projects would clash with defence operations amid heightened tensions with Russia, noting the proximity of its enclave Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
But speaking to Agence France-Presse, the Swedish military said it has been clear in its “evaluation regarding offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea,” adding it would “pose unacceptable risks for the defence of our country and our allies.
"We currently see no technical solutions or legal prerequisites for a coexistence of our defence interests and wind power in the Baltic Sea," said the military.
"The greatly deteriorated security situation after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine means that we can no longer accept any risks to our defence capability.
"Our ability to detect incoming threats against both Sweden and our allies is vital. Our sensor chain plays a decisive role in this and it must be able to operate with the highest possible capability.”
Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson said previously that the proximity of the offshore wind projects to the "highly militarised" exclave of Kaliningrad was “central” to the government’s decision.
Having wind farms in that area could delay the detection of an incoming cruise missile, cutting warning time from two minutes to 60 seconds.