Developing Sweden’s transmission grid: what are the drivers and barriers?

The report identifies that while the Swedish transmission grid operator, Svenska Kraftnät, is a primary driver for grid development, most drivers are indirect, such as EU climate policy and the need to integrate wind power. Key barriers include a complex and ambiguous concession process, local resistance based on land-use and health concerns, and passive government governance. The study finds that current planned projects generally align with the geographic needs identified by the NORSTRAT project, though there are discrepancies in wind power production assumptions between the TSO and industry estimates.

• The primary drivers for developing the Swedish transmission grid are indirect, including concerns over climate change and the impetus for an integrated European market to overcome bottlenecks.
• EU Directive 2009/28/EC and the Swedish electricity certificate system act as clear drivers by stimulating new RES production, which forces the TSO to expand the grid due to the connection obligation.
• The division of the Swedish electricity market into four bidding areas (SE1–SE4) serves as a driver by using price signals to expose spatial mismatches between production and consumption.
• The formal concession process for transmission lines is a significant barrier due to its complexity, ambiguity, and the high risk of appeals, which leads to long and unpredictable lead times.
• Local resistance constitutes a major barrier, often manifesting as conflicts over land use, the preference for underground cables over overhead lines, and health concerns regarding electromagnetic radiation and creosote.
• There is a notable discrepancy between the wind power production assumptions used by Svenska Kraftnät for planning and the estimates from the wind industry, which could lead to an under-dimensioned grid.
• The Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) concluded that government governance of Svenska Kraftnät has been too passive, failing to provide sufficient evaluation and follow-up to accelerate necessary investments.
• Current and planned transmission grid projects in Sweden generally align with the geographic needs identified in the NORSTRAT modelling, specifically in strengthening north-to-south capacity and international connections to Lithuania and Germany.
• Svenska Kraftnät's internal normative rules support grid development as a means to help decarbonize Europe by exporting clean energy, even when such investments are not profitable for Sweden.

APA

Wangel, J. (2015). Developing Sweden’s transmission grid: what are the drivers and barriers? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2015-06-Sweden-transmission-grid.pdf

Chicago

Wangel, Josefin. Developing Sweden’s transmission grid: what are the drivers and barriers? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2015-06-Sweden-transmission-grid.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wangel |first1=Josefin |title=Developing Sweden’s transmission grid: what are the drivers and barriers? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2015-06-Sweden-transmission-grid.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wangel2015developing, author = {Wangel, Josefin}, title = {{Developing Sweden’s transmission grid: what are the drivers and barriers?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2015-06-Sweden-transmission-grid.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }