SCA And Fred.Olsen Renewables Invest In Wind Power In Northern Sweden
SCA and the Norwegian company Fred.Olsen Renewables are forming a jointly owned company to focus on constructing a wind farm on SCA's land in Västernorrland in northern Sweden. The area has a potential annual wind-power production of about 2 TWh.
"SCA has major areas of land that are highly suitable for wind-power production," says Åke Westberg, Head of SCA Energy. "This project enables SCA to further strengthen its concentration on wind power, which is entirely in line with the Group's strategic focus on the increased production and consumption of renewable energy."
"This is our most important investment to date in Sweden, and we are pleased to cooperate with SCA that has long industrial experience in the region," says Torger Lien, Managing Director of Fred.Olsen Renewables. "We view the collaboration as a valuable opportunity to deliver renewable energy also to Nordic clients."
SCA and Fred.Olsen Renewables are forming the company FORSCA AB, of which SCA will own 40 percent and Fred.Olsen Renewables will own 60 percent. SCA will provide the land resources while Fred.Olsen Renewables will arrange the financing of the coowned company. The co-owned company initiates wind measurements in the area in summer 2011 aimed at preparing documentation ahead of an environmental assessment of the wind farm.
The measurement and assessment of wind-power locations, to be conducted in the coming year, will determine the extent to which the potential will be realised. The planned wind farm is located in the highlands east of Näsåker in the Municipality of Sollefteå.
The SCA Energy business unit, which is part of the SCA Forest Products business group, is charged with developing SCA's production of renewable energy. Besides wind power, SCA Energy produces refined and unrefined biofuels. SCA is Europe's largest private forest owner with 2.6 million hectares of forest in the northern half of Sweden.
Fred.Olsen Renewables, which focuses on renewable energy, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the listed companies Bonheur ASA and Ganger Rolf ASA. Fred.Olsen Renwables has developed and operated wind farms since the mid 1990s and currently has four projects totaling 317 MW of onshore wind power in the UK. Also, the company has permits to build additional wind-power plants in Norway, the UK and Sweden.
SOURCE: SCA