From Brussels Signal, March 1, 2024
Two Swedish economists have issued a warning that the country’s wind-power industry is on the brink of a wave of bankruptcies.
Christian Sandström and Christian Steinbeck analysed wind-power companies’ annual reports in Sweden and their work revealed “significant financial problems”, they told Swedish media outlet Kvartal on February 28. “The total loss for the years 2017–2022 amounted to 13.5 billion Swedish krona [€1.2 billion], which meant a loss margin of 39 per cent,” they said about the sector.
Such heavy losses seem to be the rule rather than the exception for wind-power companies in Sweden, according to the annual reports. The Swedish Government has been pushing its national energy policies in a “green” direction, promoting wind power and decommissioning nuclear power plants. But the cost appears to be much more painful than previously thought, the economists stressed.
Sandström and Steinbeck have been pointing towards profitability problems in the wind sector for some time “despite suppliers benefiting from Government support through electricity certificates and being exempt from covering the entire expenses associated with grid adaptation for wind energy or the depreciation of properties near installations”. Since the economists’ initial findings, Markbygden Ett, Sweden’s largest wind-farm installation with 179 turbines, is already facing bankruptcy, stacking up hundreds of millions of krona in debt.
The firm is not alone – many other alternative-power companies in Sweden are in trouble.
Read the full article here.
Wind Concerns is a collaboration of citizens of the Lakeland Alberta region against proposed wind turbine projects.
Mismanagement and poor budgeting might be common for wind turbine companies, the experts in their field???
Is it possibly because operating costs are just way more than what the inefficient turbines can produce?
Sounds like this might be a poor business model even with all the incentives and kickbacks.
Or is that the way the financial side is designed and operated on purpose?
Hmmm.
So these companies claim bankruptcy… where is that loss absorbed or offset? Who pays for that?
Oh yeah – we, the tax payers.
We pay taxes to give them grants, cost sharing, subsidies, etc and then we pay when they fail financially?
Hmmm.
I think we are in the wrong business.