Sweden to see one of its largest land-based wind farms

What will be one of the largest land-based wind farms in Sweden has received a financial jump-start with an investment of around $172 million.

Skanska Infrastructure Development, wind farm developer O2 and Jämtkraft are making a joint investment of around SEK 1.1 billion in the project, with Skanska holding 50 percent and the other two companies 25 percent each.

The project will consist of 30 wind turbines at Sjisjka, in a low mountainous area in Gällivare Municipality, in the north of Sweden. The wind turbines will be supplied by Vestas and will be 131 meters high, with an installed capacity of up to 78 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity for some 43,000 households.

Skanska joins the project as investor and contractor. O2 will contribute wind power expertise in the form of project engineering, turbine procurement, planning and operation, while Jämtkraft will provide its knowledge of power grids, production and electricity supply.

Construction of the wind farm has already started, and electricity production is expected to start in 2012.