Transmission system operators in the Nordics have called for additional investment in five defined power corridors between 2030 and 2040 to accommodate the region's changing energy mix, driven by the installation of new renewable generation.
The grid operators of the four Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden — said in the Nordic Grid Development Plan 2019 that they require more investments to be able to make needed changes to the continuing demands of the grid.
Denmark's Energinet.dk, Finland's Fingrid Oyj, Norway's Statnett SF and Sweden's Svenska Kraftnät AB, plan to invest more than €15 billion by 2028. Beyond that, they intend to accommodate additional renewables and see a reduction in both thermal and nuclear generating capacity. While power consumption in the region has been flat for the past decade, it is expected to increase as more sectors of the economy are electrified.
The five corridors analysed for the 2019 plan all have higher benefits in the 2040 situation compared to 2030, mostly due to the increase of renewable generation and decrease of thermal and nuclear generation facilities.
The geographical location of the renewable sources is one of the reasons driving grid development. The nuclear and thermal capacity being phased out is primarily located in the southern part of the region, while wind farms are mostly being built in the north. This creates more long distance power flow in the system and will cause congestion in the transmission grid. As a result, prices will be lower in the northern parts, whereas prices in the south will be higher and more connected to continental prices.
The grid operators said that Finland will continue to import electricity but at a reduced level, while Denmark is gradually becoming a net exporter thanks to a significant increase in wind and solar capacity. Norway and Sweden will remain net power exporters by 2040.
