As a Nordic country, Sweden is located at a higher latitude, with lower average annual temperatures and especially long winters, so the energy consumption required for heating is large. Swedish data map. Picture/pexels
The ongoing tense energy problem has not yet eased. Europe has encountered another winter cold wave, which has led to a sharp increase in the overall price of natural gas. The price of electricity in Sweden has also doubled as a result in recent days.
According to reports, in the densely populated southern region of Sweden, the average electricity bill for an apartment has increased by nearly 300%. People began to think of various ways to reduce their electricity bills, such as turning off the heating, using alternative heat sources, wearing thick clothes and socks to keep warm, etc. Some people even took bank loans to pay their electricity bills.
To this end, the Swedish government had to urgently launch a "temporary assistance plan" and announced that it would allocate 6 billion Swedish kronor (1 Swedish krona is about 0.7 yuan) to help affected families survive the cold winter. About 1.8 million Families receive compensation of SEK 2,000.
Sweden's electricity supply comes mainly from domestic hydropower, nuclear power and wind energy, rather than relying on imported natural gas. Therefore, compared to many EU countries, Sweden is already less affected by natural gas price fluctuations.
As early as 2019, Sweden's wind turbine power generation increased significantly, and its wind power production capacity and electricity exports both reached record highs. Picture/Screenshot of Xinhua News Agency's Audio and Video Department report
Electricity bills have skyrocketed, and subsidies are generous
In fact, since mid-December last year, Swedish electricity prices have skyrocketed. The average daily electricity spot price in the surrounding areas of the capital Stockholm exceeded 1 per cent on December 13. The historical record of 3 kronor per kilowatt hour has since soared to more than 6 kronor per kilowatt hour, and there is no sign of turning around.
Because its northern regions lie within the cold Arctic Circle , the vast majority of Sweden's population is concentrated in the south. Data show that in December 2021, electricity prices for detached houses in southern Sweden increased by 361% year-on-year, and electricity prices for apartments increased by 266% year-on-year.
In fact, in recent months, the vast majority of Swedish families are "crossing the sea and showing off their magical powers" in the hope of surviving the cold winter. But the problem is that if electricity prices continue to "fly freely" like this, many families may not be able to survive. Local media said that many families have paid their electricity bills through credit card overdrafts or even bank loans.
As an old welfare state, the Swedish government naturally wants to help.
In December 2021, Swedish Finance Minister Dan Berg promised that the government "will be committed to helping as many people as possible and taking necessary measures to give people more breathing room." In January 2022, Energy Minister Farman Barr also stated that he “fully understands” people’s concerns about the deterioration of financial conditions due to skyrocketing electricity prices.
html On November 12, the Swedish government announced that it would allocate approximately 6 billion kronor for a temporary plan to help Swedish households most affected by rising electricity prices cope with the crisis. The specific measure is that within the three months from December 2021 to February 2022, households that consume more than 2,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month can receive an electricity price subsidy of approximately 2,000 kronor per month.Danberg said, "This is a special measure under special circumstances. It is an exception for Sweden to provide support when market factors cause price fluctuations." He expects about 1.8 million households to benefit.
On October 13, 2021 local time, European Commissioner Kadri Simson, responsible for energy affairs, held a press conference on energy prices in Brussels, Belgium. As the cold winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, the energy problems plaguing Europe are becoming more and more serious. The skyrocketing electricity prices in Sweden are just one of them. Photo / Xinhua News Agency
It is not the fault of the market, as has been said
However, is the soaring electricity price in Sweden and even the entire Scandinavia really just "the fault of the market"?
Although Sweden lacks traditional fossil energy resources such as oil, natural gas, and coal, it is one of the European countries with the richest hydropower resources. However, because its hydropower resources are concentrated in the north with harsh climate and sparsely populated areas, and because the terrain is long and narrow and cut by many fjords, the north-south power transmission system has long had serious bottlenecks.
For this reason, after the " World War II ", Sweden once vigorously developed nuclear power.Nuclear power without geographical restrictions can be deployed nearby in the southwest, where densely populated, industrial and large cities are concentrated, greatly alleviating Sweden's energy pressure.
However, since the 1990s, radical environmentalists have gradually dominated the discourse of Swedish public opinion. Under their fierce advocacy, fossil energy has been completely included in the "death penalty list", and nuclear power and even hydropower are not worthy of being treated as such. "Green Energy".
Under the impact of this "environmental protection" trend, Sweden's total installed coal power capacity has not exceeded 1 gigawatt since 2000. Data show that in 2020, Sweden's total thermal power installed capacity, including coal, oil and gas, will only have 3.2 GW. The Swedish government is complying with the demands of radical environmentalists and plans to reduce the proportion of coal power to 0 in 2030 and the proportion of all thermal power to 0.5%, that is, no more than 1.8 GW.
The "Green Energy Plan" formulated by the Swedish Social Democratic Government is extremely ambitious: from 2020 to 2030, the compound annual growth rate of "pure renewable energy" such as wind energy will be stable at more than 7.4%; by 2030, "pure renewable energy" will be achieved Renewable energy" accounted for 41.3%. To this end, the country's government reduced the amount of strategic natural gas reserves and "conveniently" permanently closed its nuclear power plants.
Of course, Sweden has the confidence to dare to make such bold statements.
In early December last year, an analysis report commissioned by a consulting agency commissioned by five mainstream wind energy companies in Sweden stated that Sweden’s electricity demand in 2050 will rise from the current 140 terawatt hours to 370 terawatt hours. Despite this, Sweden can provide 167 terawatt hours of electricity per year from offshore wind alone, while a "green hydrogen system" can provide 130 terawatt hours.
At the same time, more than 130 wind energy companies across Sweden are "planning to build offshore wind power projects exceeding 500 terawatt hours per year." In other words, offshore wind energy alone will be able to meet 45% of Sweden's annual electricity demand by then. Together with other "purely renewable energy sources" such as "green hydrogen", as power analysts say, Sweden will "achieve energy by 2040." Going 100% purely renewable will not be too much of a challenge.”
However, as the saying goes, "Ideals are full, reality is skinny."
Sweden’s state-owned power transmission system operator pointed out that the complete shutdown of nuclear power plants and the drastic reduction of thermal power have left a huge power supply gap in the south and southwest of Sweden, where Sweden has the most dense population and industry and the most concentrated electricity consumption. This has also made the originally "innately deficient" north-south transmission system even more tight, and additional infrastructure construction is slow and urgent, and is destined to not progress rapidly under Sweden's special geographical conditions. Coupled with the lack of wind this winter, wind power generation is well below normal standards, and natural gas prices across Europe have been artificially high. A series of factors are interrelated and compound, forming a catastrophic vicious cycle.
It can be said that today's electricity prices are soaring because the Swedish government and opposition parties are immersed in the pride of being "the world's leader in green concepts" and formulate corresponding energy policies based on the opinions of related interest groups, but deliberately ignore the many immature or ""new energy sources" The "depending on the weather" factor ignores the consequences of the global energy landscape and the impact of the environment.
On September 28, 2021 local time, Swedish youth activist, political activist and radical environmentalist Greta Thunberg gave a speech at the World Youth Climate Action held in Milan, Italy. Represented by it, Sweden's radical environmental thought trend has deep roots. Picture/Ic photo
"Green" cannot be shaken, politics must be "correct"
Despite this, Sweden's "green correctness" has reached the point of being "unshakable" or even "unquestionable".
Faced with public complaints that “this subsidy is simply not enough,” Lundgren, deputy chief economist of the Swedish Energy Market Regulator, had no choice but to give a quick and easy suggestion that “everyone should buy more smart energy-saving products and use them more.” suggestion. According to the evaluation of some Swedish netizens, "It seems as if these new products are free of charge."
For those families who are so "retro" that they use firewood and fireplaces for heating, the most worrying thing is that less and less firewood has been cut.
Not only that, some residents have questioned whether cutting down trees is more conducive to reducing emissions than nuclear power. Of course, neither Swedish government agencies nor environmental groups will answer this question directly.
What is real help? Should we face the raging wave of rising electricity prices and scramble to provide electricity subsidies that are just a drop in the bucket, or should we fundamentally solve the contradiction between supply and demand in power generation, transmission, and power supply and provide sufficient and stable electricity for the people?
However, the Swedish government obviously would rather choose the former, which is "political insurance" but has dubious effects, than try the latter.
Because, as a constitutional monarchy cabinet system , if the Swedish government wants to maintain the right to form a cabinet, it must obtain majority support in the 349-seat parliament. For the Social Democratic Party, which has less than half of the seats in the House of Representatives, this means that it cannot easily take risks, especially not offend the radical environmentalists with deep roots.
After all, compared to the right wing, radical environmentalists who consider themselves left-wing are more likely to become supporters of the Social Democratic Party. Therefore, facing the frenzied rise in electricity prices and receiving subsidies that are just a drop in the bucket, Sweden can probably only continue to "cross the sea and show off its magical powers" to survive the current cold winter.
Beijing News staff writer | Tao shortfang (columnist)
editor | He Rui
proofreader | Zhao Lin
