LEADER • Unfortunately, we recently received news that the government intends to introduce a ”bribe” to persuade municipalities to approve more wind power. However, a bribe for an ineffective energy source does not make it better for either the country or the electricity system.

Samnytt has long been covering the energy market in the country. We were early with a critical documentary specifically about wind power, which correctly predicted the problems we have later come to see.

Recently, reality has caught up with more and more people, not least large parts of the population in the country, and more and more municipalities are now saying no to new wind power establishments. The lobby organization Svensk Vindenergi reported that 12 out of 16 wind power projects were stopped by municipal veto during the first half of 2024. Of the four that were approved, the defense forces stopped three projects.

The reasons are many: citizens who are affected by the industrial parks are protesting, which we have documented in our reportage. It also affects natural values, which some but not all municipalities have realized. And, which we can hope some municipalities realize, it is harmful to the energy system and also risks affecting municipalities economically when the lifespan of the turbines or other factors do not prove to be accurate.

Sought-after contributions

All this and more has caused the popularity of wind power, at least among ordinary people, to decline.

The SD-supported government has, in sharp contrast to the Social Democrats and the rest of the left-wing parties (C, V, and MP), changed the policy to enable more nuclear power, which the Social Democrats have slaughtered at times. This has led to a renaissance for Swedish nuclear power, which was previously world-leading.

But unfortunately, this government also falls for wind power. It was recently announced that a ”bribe” will be introduced to persuade municipalities to say yes. Municipalities where wind power is being built will now receive compensation from the state. For the year 2025, 340 million SEK is allocated in the budget.

New contributions from taxpayers are always welcomed by the major companies. This is no exception. Recently, the dependence on subsidies from the wind power industry was evident when Vattenfall halted (fortunately) the offshore wind power industry project Svenska Kriegers Flak, south of Trelleborg. The reason was that there were ”missing investment conditions”, which in turn is due to the new government no longer intending to finance the connection cost for offshore wind power.

So: no subsidies, no wind power.

The entire industry doped

Samnytt was early to report that the economic conditions for wind power are lacking, and that a large majority of wind power companies are running with significant losses, have few or no employees, and the money disappears in some way (part 3 of our documentary).

READ ALSO: The wind power industry demands tax subsidies to build

It looks similar elsewhere. The industry exists because the people of Sweden and Europe spend taxpayer money on them. Now the government wants to continue to fuel an inferior energy source by ”bribing” municipalities and perhaps eventually individuals to accept that large parts of our nature are being destroyed by the wind power industries, without being able to provide the predictability and long-term viability that an electricity system needs.

Therefore, the government’s new announcement of 340 million SEK is likely to deepen the problems we have created for ourselves. Most likely, this is a concession to the Liberals, who, like any left-wing party, are obsessed with carbon dioxide and the entire agenda.

But a bribe from the state to municipalities does not make wind power more predictable, reliable, or economically viable. It just risks making a hyped energy source even more widespread in the country, whether it is built on land or at sea.

In other words, I am afraid that the concession to the Liberals will be yet another example of political incompetence regarding what our country really needs to do.