Swedish automaker Volvo Cars partnered with local wind power firm Eolus Vind for the Västvind offshore wind farm off Gothenburg.
The Gothenburg offshore wind farm will reportedly power the Volvo Cars’ Torslanda factory and an upcoming battery plant, according to Renewables Now.
Partnership details
The letter of intent indicated that the Västvind offshore wind farm would power the Swedish automaker’s operations in Hisingen, Gothenburg.
As mentioned, it includes the Torslanda vehicle factory and the under-construction 50 GWh battery plant in collaboration with Northvolt.
For those unaware, Volvo Cars’ Torslanda factory is located on Hisingen Island in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. According to Electrek, the second most populous county currently has a major electricity shortage. Alarmingly, the electricity demand in the county is forecasted to nearly double by the end of the decade.
The partnership will aid Volvo in its efforts to cut the C02 emissions generated from its operations. In return, the shift to wind energy will enable Volvo to boost the local economy by creating new job opportunities.
“The world is facing a massive challenge due to the climate crisis. Volvo Cars has a goal to only sell fully electric cars by 2030. We are working hard to reduce the carbon footprint of the entire lifecycle of the car, including the electricity used to manufacture the cars and their batteries.
The conditions in western Sweden require us to take action today to establish a new electricity supply and at the same time secure our own supply of renewable electricity in the future. Additionally, this transition will create many new jobs in the automotive industry for the region.”
Johan Lannering, head of strategic collaborations at Volvo Cars
About the Västvind offshore wind farm
The Västvind offshore wind farm has a capacity of generating 4-4.5 TWh of clean electricity per year. It can apparently meet the current energy demand for the whole of Gothenburg, which has almost 580,000 population.
Notably, Eolus Vind expects Västvind to hit a capacity of 1 GW.
Eolus Vind aims to break ground on the Västvind offshore wind farm by 2027, with plans to launch operations in 2029.
Notably, Eolus owns most of the offshore wind farm with a 95% share. The Gothenburg Port Authority holds the remaining 5% share.
See Also:
- The Netherlands officially launched one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms
- Autonomous underwater robots to survey the US’ first floating offshore wind farm
- France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is now fully operational
- WIndUK is about to officially launch world’s largest offshore wind farm
- New offshore wind deployments to add 380 GW by 2032
Volvo Cars aims to be an all-electric brand by 2030, demonstrating the automaker’s commitment to adopt sustainable energy. That said, adopting renewable energy for its operations in Gothenburg is crucial for the company to hit carbon neutrality.
