Grid connection delays are slowing the expansion of solar parks in Sweden, according to a report by Green Power Sweden.
The industry organisation said waiting times for initial connection indications averaged five months across 170 cases, rising to 13 months in unfinished cases.
Green Power Sweden added that network investigations took an average of 11 months in completed cases and 21 months in ongoing cases, with some projects waiting up to 41 months.
The report highlighted long lead times, unpredictable and high costs, and a lack of transparency as key barriers to solar deployment.
It said some developers faced unexpected cost increases of several hundred per cent during the connection process.
“When cost-effective electricity production cannot be expanded, the price of electricity is kept high, our chances of achieving climate goals are reduced and Swedish competitiveness is impaired,” said Nils Grunditz, chief executive of Green Power Sweden.
“The process of connecting solar parks to the electricity grid must be regulated with clearer requirements for electricity grid owners, increased transparency and predictable costs.”
“Despite some recent improvements, the difficulties in obtaining a grid connection have in too many cases been so severe that operators have chosen to prioritize markets other than Sweden,” said Madeleine van der Veer, responsible for solar parks at Green Power Sweden.
“This is a missed opportunity for growth and price pressure in the electricity market.”
E.ON acknowledged the challenges and linked delays to a surge in demand for new connections.
“We had an increase of over 1,000 percent in demand and, as the report shows, we have had difficulty handling that,” said Christian Roos, responsible for new electricity connections at E.ON.
“That is why we have strengthened our resources, digitized and completely changed our way of working.”