Sweden’s Evolving Hydropower Sector: Renovation, Restoration and Concession Change

The report examines the tension between environmental restoration and energy production in Sweden's mature hydropower sector. It finds that production gains from renovating 39 stations (2003–2012) were approximately 24 times larger than production losses from concession reviews (1990–2010), suggesting that significant river restoration can occur without compromising overall energy capacity. Through case studies of the Edensforsen, Furudal, and Hedefors stations, the author analyzes the legal and institutional hurdles of modifying and reviewing hydropower concessions under the Swedish Environmental Code (SEC) and EU directives. The report concludes that the current legal framework often leads to inefficiencies and adversarial processes, recommending the creation of a common compulsory fund for hydropower producers to finance restoration measures and streamline the review process.

• Hydropower production in Sweden is substantial, providing approximately 45% of the country's total electricity, with 67,000 GWh generated in 2010, making it the largest producer in the European Union.
• The energy production increases resulting from the renovation of 39 hydropower stations between 2003 and 2012 were roughly 24 times greater than the production losses caused by concession reviews from 1990 to 2010.
• Theoretical extrapolations based on the extensive renovation of six large-scale stations (>10 MW) suggest a potential production increase of 3,000 GWh/year from renovating existing large-scale hydropower stations in Sweden.
• The legal force of hydropower concessions, many of which date back to the 1918 Water Law, means that new national or EU environmental legislation does not directly affect operating conditions unless a judicial concession review is completed.
• In concession modification hearings, there is significant legal ambiguity regarding whether the court should conduct an extensive examination of the entire water operation or a limited examination of the proposed modifications.
• Concession review processes are often inefficient and adversarial, frequently requiring out-of-court settlements and state funding for mitigation measures to be successful, as demonstrated in the Hedefors case.
• The report proposes establishing a common compulsory fund, financed by a percentage of production value from all hydropower producers, to pay for biodiversity and river restoration measures and compensation for production losses.

APA

Rudberg, P. M. (2013). Sweden’s Evolving Hydropower Sector: Renovation, Restoration and Concession Change. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-Rudberg-SwedensEvolvingHydropowerSector-2013.pdf

Chicago

Rudberg, Peter M. Sweden’s Evolving Hydropower Sector: Renovation, Restoration and Concession Change. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-Rudberg-SwedensEvolvingHydropowerSector-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rudberg |first1=Peter M. |title=Sweden’s Evolving Hydropower Sector: Renovation, Restoration and Concession Change |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-Rudberg-SwedensEvolvingHydropowerSector-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rudberg2013swedens, author = {Rudberg, Peter M.}, title = {{Sweden’s Evolving Hydropower Sector: Renovation, Restoration and Concession Change}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-Rudberg-SwedensEvolvingHydropowerSector-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }