Åre, March 13 2023 – Sunna Group AB (“Sunna”)

Permit granted for Östergötland’s largest solar park

– Länsstyrelsen gives the go-ahead for 90 hectares of solar park on Vikbolandet.

The County Administrative Board of Östergötland has given the green light for Sunna Group to build a solar park on Vikbolandet in Norrköping municipality. The future solar park will be built on land covering 90 hectares with a total capacity of 70 megawatts, which will be the largest solar park in the county to date.

The project is now entering the next phase for final design together with the grid owner. The annual production from Vikingen 1 is estimated at 70 million kilowatt hours per year, which corresponds to the annual consumption of household electricity for more than half of the villas in Norrköping municipality.

Rendering of the preliminary design of the park.

“It feels really good to get permission for a solar power park of this magnitude. This is important both for the local electricity supply, businesses, nature and residents, but also for Sweden as a whole because we are facing a major transition with an increased energy demand where solar power will be an obvious part”, says Marcus Qviberg, CEO of Sunna Group.

Sunna Group focuses on biodiversity and finding land with low nature and production values or areas that are already exploited and damaged. The Vikingen 1 project is an example of how Sunna’s project developers have found land with low nature value and possible connection to the electricity grid.

“I think it’s great that things are moving forward and that we have the opportunity to use the land for what it is best suited for. The land currently has low production value and I believe that biodiversity and wildlife will benefit greatly from this establishment”, says landowner Marcus Cederblad.

Rendering of the view into the park.

The land consists of low-productivity agricultural land, much of which has suffered annual flooding and subsequent harvest losses. The construction of the park will have a minimal effect on Sweden’s total agricultural area because of the wet soil. Once the park has reached its technical lifespan after about 35 years, the area can be returned to agricultural land. In the meantime, these 90 hectares will instead assist another, very important social interest by contributing to the transition to a fossil-free society.

“I think this is a fun project! The area is ideal for building a solar park as the land is currently waterlogged and difficult to cultivate, so it feels good that we are moving towards construction”, says landowner David Leo.

A number of measures will be taken to promote biodiversity on the site, including leaving ditches and field margins intact. Solar parks themselves can also benefit many ground-nesting birds that can seek shade and protection from predators under the solar panels. The future park will not be fenced in, but kept open to ensure that wildlife can continue to move freely within and through the area.

Rendering of the preliminary design of the park.

The consultation notification has been prepared in cooperation with environmental consultants from Envigo.

“We are extremely proud to have achieved this together with Sunna Group. It will be Östergötland’s largest solar park to date, and a big step towards a sustainable future”, says Linnéa Andersson, consultant manager at Envigo.

Facts: Project Vikingen 1

Size: 90 hectares
Power: 70 MW
Production: 70 000 000 kWh per year, the equivalent of household electricity for 14,000 villas
Location: Vikbolandet, Östergötland county

Contact:

Marcus Qviberg, CEO Sunna Group
Telephone: 073-317 38 76
E-mail: marcus@sunnagroup.com

About Sunna Group AB:

Sunna was founded in June 2021 with the ambition to increase the amount of solar power in the energy system by developing, owning and managing large-scale solar power in the Nordic region. Together with long-term capital partners, Sunna is a sustainable player in the Swedish energy market.

Sunna increases access to green, locally produced solar power, enabling faster regional establishment and expansion of companies, as well as supporting the electrification of society at large. Sunna’s goal is to build 500 MW by 2025 – equivalent to about half of Sweden’s largest hydroelectric power plants – and 1 GW will be in production by 2030.