Tough battle against the rock: wpd europe GmbH completes infrastructure and foundation construction for Swedish wind farm Aldermyrberget

After challenging infrastructure work, which began in June 2019, the Swedish wpd team was able to complete the access route and, above all, the construction of the foundations. Currently, the last steps in anchoring the foundations with special rock anchors in the ground are being implemented. The complex terrain structure with a high proportion of massive rock formations even offered advantages here, as the rocky ground provides the necessary prerequisites for such anchoring.

The Aldermyrberget wind farm project is being built in a traditional mining and industrial community in the province of Västerbottens Iän. The project area is located on the land owned by Sveaskog, Holmen and a private landowner. It is the northernmost project that wpd europe GmbH has ever implemented. The 72-megawatt wind farm will consist of 17 wind turbines (WTGs) of the Vestas V150 type, each with a rated output of 4.2 megawatts, a hub height of 155 metres and a total height of 230 metres. In view of the special climatic conditions in northern Sweden, they will be equipped with blade heating systems. The project’s planned annual production of 270 GWh corresponds to the annual electricity demand of approx. 54,000 households.

wpd started planning for the project at an early stage and consistently pushed ahead with it. The success of these efforts is not only proof of the great acceptance of the project, but also confirms the long-term commitment of wpd europe GmbH in Scandinavia. Construction of the plants is scheduled to start in early summer 2020, while commissioning is planned for the end of the year. So far, the progress of work has been largely unaffected by the effects of the corona pandemic, so that wpd is confident that it will be able to meet the set schedule.

In May 2019 wpd was able to announce the signing of a PPA contract with a large Swedish industrial company and in October finally the financial close, for which KfW IPEX-Bank was won as a partner. The next important step has now been taken with the extensive completion of the infrastructure and foundation construction measures.

“We are pleased to be able to welcome Vestas to the site soon, and that we have reached another milestone in our commitment to Sweden,” says Maria Röske, Managing Director at wpd Scandinavia AB. “The great commitment with which our teams on site have recently advanced the anchoring of the plant foundations in the hard rock is symbolic of the basic commitment with which we were able to master all challenges in the planning and realization of the Aldermyrberget project, which is important locally but also for the positioning of wpd in the Swedish market.”