Alight and Sveaskog have entered a long-term partnership for solar PV parks
It will co-own solar parks with a combined 2 GW capacity, built on Sveaskog’s forest land
Sveaskog estimates around 5 GW solar energy generation from using 0.2% of its land
The largest forest owner of Sweden, state-run Sveaskog has contracted local developer Alight to build 2 GW solar PV capacity on land owned by the state-run company that aims to ‘create value from forest and land’. This capacity is planned to be built over the next 5 years.
Sveaskog owns 14% of Sweden’s forests or approximately 3.4 million hectares. Out of this, 3 million is productive forest land. It estimates around 5 GW of solar energy to be generated if 10,000 or 0.2% of its land is converted into solar parks. This would amount of 0.04% of Sweden’s total forest land. At the end of 2023, Sweden’s total installed solar PV capacity was almost 4 GW, including 1.3 GW installed last year (see Sweden Installed Over 1.6 GW New Solar In 2023).
Currently, however, around 18% of the country’s total installed wind power capacity is sited on Sveaskog’s land.
“Investing in solar power on our land is natural for us as a large landowner and a way to contribute to the energy transition and the future need for fossil-free energy sources. Alight will be a stable partner for us in this work,” said Sveaskog CEO Erik Brandsma.
Under the partnership, Sveaskog will co-invest between 30% to 49% in the solar parks and also contribute with sustainable management initiatives, while Alight will develop, build and co-own the solar parks.
For Alight, this long-term partnership with a state player will contribute to its 2030 goal by when it aims to have an installed capacity of at least 5 GW solar in its portfolio.