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Swedish government rejects permit for new power line to Germany

By: Chloe Emanuel 18/06/2024 Government of Sweden

Cables General

The Swedish government has rejected an application for the Hansa PowerBridge, a proposed direct current connection from Skåne to Germany. This decision halts the joint project between the Swedish power grid and Germany's 50Hertz, which aimed to link Germany and Sweden's southernmost electricity area, SE4.

The rejection stems from concerns over the inefficiency of the German electricity market, which does not offer accurate price signals due to its lack of division into electricity areas that reflect significant internal bottlenecks. In contrast, Sweden's market is divided in a way that corresponds to these bottlenecks.

Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch stated, "We cannot connect southern Sweden, which has a large deficit in electricity production, with Germany, where the electricity market today does not function efficiently. That would risk leading to higher prices and a more unstable electricity market in Sweden. Sweden needs predictable conditions to build electricity production and electricity grids that favour an electricity system that delivers competitive electricity prices."

Most electricity market actors see no current need for the new connection, and southern Sweden already has significant foreign connections.

The decision does not rule out future connections between Germany and Sweden if market conditions improve. According to the Tidö Agreement, the expansion of electricity export cables will be paused until price differences between electricity price areas decrease significantly.

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Swedish government rejects permit for new power line to Germany

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