COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The offshore wind industry has solutions that would address Swedish defence concerns, CEO of renewable energy group Orsted said on Tuesday after Sweden rejected applications to build 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson said on Monday that building wind farms in the Baltic Sea would pose defence risks, by making it harder to detect and shoot down missiles.
As Europe turns to renewable sources to diversify energy supplies away from Russian oil and gas, concerns have also risen about how to secure critical maritime infrastructure.
“We fully understand the valid concerns from the armed forces and the Swedish government,” Orsted CEO Mads Nipper told journalists.
The company has already collaborated with the military in other Baltic Sea countries Germany, Poland and Denmark when establishing offshore wind farms, he said.
“We are quite convinced that we could find solutions to serve the needs of both the armed forces and also the government,” Nipper said. “We will of course offer all the experiences and learnings that we have from collaborating with the military elsewhere.”
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Editing by Louise Heavens)
