Cork firm Simply Blue to build offshore wind farms in Sweden

In total, the projects will result in an additional 4.75-gigawatt of floating wind farms in Swedish waters. Picture: Neil Michael 

Renewable energy company Simply Blue Group, has announced plans for the development of two offshore wind farms in Sweden.

Simply Blue Group is working in partnership with Wind Sweden, a wind energy consultancy, on the construction of both wind farms. In total, the projects will result in an additional 4.75-gigawatt of floating wind farms in Swedish waters.

Based in Cork, Simply Blue Group is focused on marine projects associated with floating offshore wind. It has developed a pipeline of over 9GW of floating offshore wind projects to date, primarily in Ireland and the UK. It is developing the Emerald Floating Wind Project in the Celtic Sea off Kinsale with Shell, and the Blue Gem Wind portfolio of floating wind projects in the Welsh waters of the Celtic sea with TotalEnergies.

Both wind farms are to be constructed off the coast in Swedish waters. The 2-gigawatt Skidbladner Floating Wind Project is located 100 kilometres South-East of Stockholm and the 2.75-gigawatt Herkules Floating Wind project, is approximately 60 km Southeast of the Island of Gotland.

Adrian de Andres, Director Market Development at Simply Blue Group said: "Floating wind has an important role to play in the Swedish Energy mix as well as Nordpool given it can be located further from shore and therefore its visual impact is significantly reduced.

"Our project selection has focused on sites that we believe are environmentally friendly and at the same time technically and commercially feasible. 

"We believe floating wind cost reductions will be steep in the next decade and therefore will be able to compete with other renewable energy sources in the 2030s," he added. 

Jeanette Lindeblad CEO of Wind Sweden said: "Europe and Sweden are facing an increasingly urgent need to increase the production of renewable and fossil-free energy.

"Our collaboration with Simply Blue Group is a concrete example of how companies from different countries work together for a more sustainable future."

Last year, UK firm Octopus Renewables took a 24% stake in Simply Blue Group (SBG) in a deal worth €15m. The investment aimed to accelerate Simply Blue Group's expansion in Ireland, the UK and internationally.