Wind power is being built like never before in Sweden. Because of new technology and ever larger wind turbines, there has been a breakthrough for the entire sector.

"Only since last summer have investments increased by more than SEK 10 billion," says Charlotte Unger Larson, CEO of the trade organization Svensk Vindenergi.

And it gives results.

- From now on and four years on, production will double. Today, production is at 20 terawatt hours and it will be at 40 terawatt hours in 2022, says Charlotte Unger Larson.

"Among the best conditions in Europe"

According to the report from Svensk Vindenergi, the investment boom began as early as 2016 when a broad political majority in the Riksdag agreed on the long-term conditions through the so-called energy agreement. Since then, investment decisions totaling SEK 80 billion have been made for wind power in Sweden. And 80 percent come from foreign investors.

"You choose Sweden because of the political climate but also the conditions we have," says Charlotte Unger Larson, CEO of the trade organization Svensk Vindenergi and continues:

- We have among the best wind conditions in Europe. We have a country that is sparsely populated and we also have a great experience of both building wind power and running parks. I think that is very crucial for the investments.

What is the secret behind the rush? It is above all that the wind turbines have become larger and thus more efficient. The wind turbines currently being built are taller than Sweden's tallest building Turning Torso in Malmö, which has a height of 190 meters. And in five years, the experts expect a new generation of wind spins that will be 250 meters high and 50 percent more efficient than today's generation.

Presses prices

Much is changing as the expansion of wind power explodes. This means, for example, that the closure of the two reactors in Ringhals will not affect the Swedish electricity supply.

- We see that our forecasts for wind power far exceed production in the reactors that will be shut down in Ringhals. We will therefore continue to have a surplus, says Robert Andrén, director general of the energy authority.

This means that Sweden will have a record surplus of electricity in 2022, which means that exports of electricity will increase.

The large surplus of electricity in Sweden is also pushing electricity prices. But the big change for us consumers is that prices will vary much more. We get a situation that is already seen in Denmark where electricity can be next free when it is very windy and extremely expensive when it is windy.

- Today when the electricity price is low in general, you have a situation that it really does not matter when you use the electricity and you do not have to think about it, says Robert Andrén. In the future, it will be even more important to be aware of its use of electricity.

The technology already exists today to control electricity consumption until the hours when the price is at its lowest. And that technology will have a bigger impact when many people notice that it is possible to save big money on, for example, washing in the middle of the night when the electricity tariff is at its lowest.