Ecogain investigates large-scale wind and solar energy in Varberg, Sweden.

Ecogain has investigated the conditions for large-scale wind power and solar energy on behalf of Varberg municipality, as a basis for the municipality's upcoming master plan.

There are currently 16 wind turbines and four solar energy plants in operation. The need for electricity is expected to increase significantly, which means that the municipality needs to identify sites for new electricity production in a new master plan.

Varberg has many values linked to natural and cultural environments, the population's living environment, tourism, food production and other important social functions. This means that complex considerations are needed for all areas that may be relevant for wind power and solar energy, and it is a major challenge to find possible sites. 

Ecogain's task was to identify suitable areas based on a large amount of geographical data. For wind power, areas both on land and at sea were analyzed, and for solar energy, the goal was to find sites for large-scale plants with a capacity of 20 to 150 MW. A total of 21 areas have been identified, 14 for wind power and seven for large-scale solar energy, which can now be further investigated in municipal planning.

The study can be downloaded from the municipality's website.