Wind energy assessment considering geographic and environmental restrictions in Sweden: A GIS-based approach

The wind energy being a freely available and low-carbon energy source has got the focus of decision makers around the world, because wind energy systems can reduce the dependence of a nation on fossil fuels and can contribute to a sustainable development of both climate and energy. However, wind power comes with certain environmental impacts and land use constraints that should be taken into account, in order to reach main sustainability goals concerning biodiversity and ecosystem services. The Swedish national goal regarding wind energy development has been set to 30 TWh by the year 2020, of which 20 TWh should come from the on-shore wind energy resource. Therefore, wind energy development in Sweden could play an important role in achieving the future energy and environmental targets. In this regard, we assessed the wind energy potential available in Sweden using a GIS-based approach. We aimed to estimate the technical onshore wind energy potential available in Sweden by considering system performance, topographic limitations, environmental, and land use constraints in the form of two restriction scenarios. The results of this paper can draw the attention of decision makers to reach a sustainable wind energy development in Sweden. The results achieved in this paper suggest that Sweden possesses sufficient wind energy potential and land area available for wind energy installations, which can be used to meet the future renewable energy targets in Sweden.