STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BLUE
20 km west of Piteå in Swedish Lapland the energy revolution is taking place.
Welcome to Markbygden 1101*
THE AREA CALLED MARKBYGDEN in the Municipality of Piteå is, essentially, a large plateau, a ridge in the landscape around 20-50 km from the Bottenviken coast. Markbygden was “discovered” as a wind resource with the aid of a software simulation developed by Professor Hans Bergström, a meteorologist at Uppsala University.
The location of the Markbygden plateau between two river valleys creates an acceleration effect in the layer of air at ground-level. In meteorology terms, this is known as the “flow over hill effect”. In practical terms, this produces a high annual average wind speed in Markbygden that, contrary to many expectations, is strongest in the winter. This also means that energy generation is highest in the winter, when the demand for energy is at its greatest.
Another important advantage of Markbygden from a wind power perspective is that two of the national grid’s 400 kV cables (the largest of the Swedish network’s cables) pass through the area, which naturally makes distribution easier.
KILOWATT? MEGAWATT?
GIGAWATT? TERAWATT?
THE PERMIT FOR AND SIZE OF the 1101* wind farm are primarily about how much power we are permitted to install in the area, rather than the specific number of wind turbines. When the project first started, we based our plans on the technology available at the time, which would require around 1100 turbines to achieve the highest permitted power output.
With wind power becoming a priority concern in many quarters, considerable advances have been made in recent years. When construction of 1101* began, the preference was to install wind turbines with a capacity of around 2.3 MW. In other parts of Phase 1, completed in 2020, the turbines have a capacity of 3.6 MW. The models installed later, in Phase 2, are 5.3 MW turbines, and so it continues. In these few years alone, there has thus been a 130% increase in the capacity of the turbines.
Before the full completion of 1101*, it is therefore likely that we will see larger and more efficient turbines, which will ultimately mean that the total number of turbines will be smaller than initially planned (with the same or even higher energy production). Whatever happens, Markbygden 1101* will be one of the world’s largest land-based wind farms in terms of size, capacity and energy production.
SVEVIND CEO Wolfgang Kropp
on the results of a wind potential study back in 2002.
”WE DISCOVERED THE MARKBYGDEN REGION NEAR PITEÅ AND REALIZED THAT THE WIND CONDITIONS IN THIS REGION ARE EXCELLENT”
MB1101
Key Facts
Permitted Capacity
Capacity installed
WTG installed
MB1101 – Pilot Projects
MB1101 – Phase 1
MB1101 – Phase 2
MB1101 – Phase 3
Substations
Other Scandinavian Projects
Visitors
Since the first ground was broken on the 1101* project outside Piteå, visitors from every corner of the globe have come to witness the emergence of Europe’s largest single energy transition project.
The site combines nature with impressive, large-scale infrastructure that literally reaches great technical heights, making 1101* a unique attraction. Of course this is helped by the fact that the whole development makes an important contribution to the nation’s energy supply, now and for the future.
Talk about the project often mentions the 1101 wind turbines but, barely halfway through the project, the number of stories and anecdotes from Markbygden already far outnumbers the officially approved turbines. Here we have put together a small sample of 1101 stories.
The King of Sweden
H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on a visit in 2019.
Kazakh Delegation
A delegation of Kazakh political and business representatives visited MB1101 in 2021 during the initial phase of the Hyrasia One project to witness the energy revolution firsthand.