French renewable energy producer Neoen and Swedish solar power projects developer Alight have started construction of what they call is the 'largest' solar power plant in Sweden with 100 MW installed capacity.
The project has also signed the largest solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with Swedish fashion retailer H&M Group agreeing to offtake 95% of the renewable energy and guarantees of origin produced by the plant.
H&M says it will play an important role in the group's target to be 100% renewable energy powered by 2030.
The Hultsfred project is coming up at Småland, south-east Sweden around the runway of Hultsfred airport. It is being built by the EPC consortium of Bouygues Energies & Services and Solkompaniet, using low-carbon PV modules.
Commercial operations are due to begin in 2025 when it will start feeding electricity to the E.ON local grid distribution system.
"This solar farm will be an important addition to electricity production in southern Sweden, where demand for cheap electricity is highest," said E.ON Energidistribution CEO Martin Höhler. "Interest in connecting this type of facility to the grid is growing all the time, which is both good news for the climate and for the expansion of Swedish electricity production."
Following this, several other large-scale solar power plants are in the pipeline in Sweden including a 90 MW solar park that Finland's Fortum plans to build as its 1st industrial-scale solar project in the country's Southern Gotland (see Europe Solar PV News Snippets).