Response to interpellation 2024/25:279 on incentives for wind power expansion
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns economic incentives and compensation to municipalities for the expansion of wind power. KD argues that municipalities that have already permitted wind power should receive annual compensation so as not to be disadvantaged and to promote long-term acceptance 1. KD emphasizes that the government is delivering clear economic incentives and is working on the wind power package for compensation to neighbors as well as the right to buy out properties 2. S considers wind power to be the fastest and most cost-effective power source but criticizes municipal vetoes 3. S wants the support to be designed so that the municipalities that actually have the wind power receive the compensation 4 and requests prompt proposals on revenue sharing for neighbors 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! I am glad that we have time for even this interpellation today!
Åsa Eriksson has asked me what I intend to do so that residents in municipalities that have already taken responsibility for the transition, and therefore already have wind farms, shall also receive compensation.
The compensation to the municipalities that the Riksdag has decided on by adopting the government's budget bill for 2025 will apply to both existing and new wind power. Municipalities that have already allowed wind power to be built will receive compensation for this annually. It is of great importance to me and the government that municipalities that have already allowed investments should not be sidelined. It is difficult to make changes, as such often entail a distortion.
Municipalities that already have wind power and can consider allowing more should not be disadvantaged because they have already allowed wind power in the very best locations. I am also convinced that the best thing for the long-term acceptance of wind power is that we do not disadvantage those who went before.
This year, the municipalities will share 340 million kronor, an amount that will increase during the coming years in accordance with the budget bill for 2025. The exact design of the compensation to the municipalities is not quite finished yet, and I will need to return to that issue.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! That we need more renewable energy to manage the transition and development, we have heard earlier here today, even if that is not the only thing that is needed. That wind power is the fastest and most cost-effective power source to expand, I believe the Minister and I agree. Unfortunately, we both know all too well that municipality after municipality uses the municipal veto, often after several years of planning, and says no to wind power applications.
There are surely several reasons for the municipalities' no, but a common reason I believe is that residents protest and argue that wind turbines will worsen their view or immediate environment. Local politicians then easily fall for this and do what is easiest in the short term, that is, say no to more renewable energy to avoid the people's wrath instead of doing the responsible thing and ensuring that they contribute to the transition.
Madam Speaker! In my constituency, Västmanland, we currently have a self-sufficiency rate of approximately 30 percent of the electrical energy that our world-leading companies, together with households, consume. There is one municipality in the county that has not said no to applications for wind power expansion, and that is little Norberg with barely 5,600 inhabitants. When the Målarberget wind farm in Norberg and Avesta was put into operation in 2021, the self-sufficiency rate of electrical energy in the entire county increased by 9 percentage points. It shows what significance a wind farm has. The 17 turbines standing on Norbergsmarken thus make a considerable difference.
Madam Speaker! But even in Norberg, there have been protests and upset feelings regarding wind power. It is not so many who protest, but they are quite loud. The vast majority of residents probably realize anyway that even Norberg must contribute to increased electricity production. But the attitude of both Norberg residents and all other residents in other municipalities would probably become more positive if the local politicians could point to economic additions that can help and develop the municipality in general and, of course, the immediate environment in particular.
In the Minister's response, she says that municipalities that have already previously said yes to wind power will receive a share of the money. I think that sounds good. I am also pleased that the government is making this investment in the budget. But in Västmanland, we are painfully aware that some of the support that the Tidö government intended to give to the municipalities does not always turn out as intended. Minister Busch and I have debated several times the fact that Sala municipality was left without several million in electricity support because the municipality was classified as an agricultural area. I do not want this to be repeated.
I therefore want to ask the Minister for Energy if she can guarantee that all municipalities that already have large wind turbines on their geographical area will receive a share of the financial compensation that the government has included in this year's budget.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! The short answer is yes. This has been explained in the written response, which will soon be available to read on the Riksdag's website and which I have read out here in the chamber.
We do not have the type of very tricky emergency and crisis regulations from the EU to contend with in this area as we did regarding the electricity support. But there will certainly be difficult trade-offs to make even in this. I therefore do not pull a complete model out of my pocket straight away here and now, but we will return to exactly how it is designed. I think I have given a straight and clear answer.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Energy, for the short answer which pleases me greatly! I guess the Minister also is aware of the article that Dagens Nyheter published in October last year. It is based on information from Svensk Vindenergi and the Energy Agency with a calculation based on the sum that the government has allocated of how much compensation the various municipalities that already have wind turbines will receive.
There, the sum for Norberg municipality is zero, despite the fact that we have 17 turbines of 4.2 megawatts each. The reason is that the property formation Målarberget is registered in Avesta municipality in Dalarna County, even though the majority of the wind turbines are located in Norberg.
With this debate, I simply want to ensure that the design of the support is made in such a way that it is the municipalities that have the wind turbines that receive the compensation and not any other municipality. I have nothing against Avesta municipality receiving money; they are well-deserved. But I think it is extremely important that the support is designed in a way that ensures the municipalities that actually have wind turbines are also those that receive a share of the support.
Again: I hope that the short answer yes holds when the details of the support are designed.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! I look forward to returning with a presentation of the model as a whole. Then we shall see whether it is my ministerial colleague Minister for Climate and Environment Romina Pourmokhtari or Minister for Finance Elisabeth Svantesson who will be given the honor of doing so, given that it is also a tax issue when it comes to the responsibility for specifically wind power in this.
I really look forward to presenting the model as a whole. Now the budget is decided, and the money is in place. There is a clear sense of direction, and we look forward to returning.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Madam Speaker! I am pleased to be able to go home to the people of Norberg and tell them that Ebba Busch has promised that money will come - thank you!
I move on to another part. I want to emphasize how important it is that just the neighbors feel a value of the wind and the encroachments in the immediate environment that one can experience that the wind turbines entail.
It states in the government's budget that they want to proceed with several of the proposals in the investigation on the value of wind. I hope that they do so expeditiously, because I have not been able to find anything that is time-bound and which states when this should occur. We Social Democrats think it is extremely important that the proposals regarding revenue sharing with neighbors and regarding owners of adjacent properties being granted the right to redeem the property for a certain price, if they so wish, are prepared. I believe that would make more municipalities choose not to say no to planned expansion of wind power.
Can the Government provide any information on when the proposals will be implemented?
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! I would like to start by thanking you very much for the interpellation. I am, as I said, glad that we can deliver something that the red-greens, despite their enthusiasm for wind power, failed to deliver over eight years, namely a clear economic incentive for municipalities to say yes to wind power.
We will return with what the model looks like. I have not distributed any exact sums here today.
I mention the so-called wind power package, which is based on the proposals of the Incentive Investigation. I want to emphasize that it formally falls under Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, and it would be premature of me to delve into the details regarding this. But it concerns measures for compensation of neighbors and local communities and a right to the redemption of properties.
The government continues to work on the issues, and we will return during the year. That is what we have set our sights on. In parallel, the property tax for wind power, which I have pointed out today, is being increased from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent. This has already been communicated, and the formal referral was sent out in January.
A lot is happening in this area. The government has delivered at a high pace for over two years, and we look forward to being allowed to continue doing so. Something tells me that Åsa Eriksson and I will meet again on these issues. Thank you for a very relevant question! I am glad to be able to give a straight and pleasing answer.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.