Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Green
Finance

Giant Wind Park Starting Up Is Another Blow to Nuclear Industry

A surge in renewable energy output in the Nordic region has sent power prices below the level where some nuclear plants are profitable. 

A Vestas A/S V136 wind turbine, a similar turbine to the ones installed at Askalen, stands at the Danish National Test Center for Large Wind Turbines in Osterild, Denmark.
A Vestas A/S V136 wind turbine, a similar turbine to the ones installed at Askalen, stands at the Danish National Test Center for Large Wind Turbines in Osterild, Denmark.Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe
By

Sweden’s biggest wind farm began producing power this month, and the region’s nuclear reactors are feeling the heat.

Vasa Vind AB’s Askalen started commercial output on April 1, increasing supplies in a market already bloated by a massive surplus of water for power generation. A day later, two units at Vattenfall AB’s Forsmark nuclear plant north of Stockholm curbed output by about 50%. Two reactors at the utility’s Ringhals plant are halted because of low power prices.