Sweden Installed 1.4GW Of New PV in 2023!

High-interest rates, inflation, and customer uncertainty could slow growth in the country's residential PV market, while developer interest in installing utility-scale PV systems remains strong, despite Sweden installing a record amount of installed PV system capacity in 2023, research suggests.

According to estimates from Svensk Solenerg, the Swedish PV industry association, Sweden installed 1.2GW to 1.4GW of installed PV system capacity in 2023, while the country installed about 1GW of PV systems in 2022.

About 96,000 PV systems were connected to the grid in Sweden in 2023, an increase of about 70 percent compared to the 55,000 PV systems installed in 2022. Svensk Solenergi said the number of PV systems installed in the country peaked in the second quarter of 2023, after which its installations declined due to high-interest rates and inflation.

The association expects Sweden to install 65,000 PV systems in 2024, a 32 percent year-on-year drop in the number of installations. Svensk Solenergi said the forecast was made due to the weak Swedish economy, increased customer uncertainty, and a reduction in the number of PV systems installed with advance notice to grid operators. Sweden had 84,000 pre-notifications in 2023 compared to 95,000 pre-notifications in 2022.

Anna Werner, CEO of Svensk Solenergi, said, "An important reason for the decline in the number of PV systems installed is the rise in interest rates and the fall in wages, which has dampened customer demand for installations. The fact that electricity prices are falling compared to 2022 is also affecting the willingness to invest. The Swedish Tax Agency's position on green tax relief for batteries has also increased uncertainty for consumers installing PV systems, which has hurt the PV market."

Svensk Solenergi expects Sweden to add between 1GW and 1.3GW of installed PV system capacity in 2024.

Oskar Öhrman, Technical Manager at Svensk Solenergi, says: "Today, there is a lot of interest in installing utility-scale PV systems. Many players want to enter the Swedish PV market, hence the high number of announced and unannounced PV developments."

He notes that there are around 360 PV projects with a total installed capacity of 11GW awaiting license approval in Sweden. He added, "The ability of the installed PV systems to be connected to the grid at an acceptable price is the most important bottleneck, which is why many PV projects have been canceled."

Construction of Sweden's largest PV plant to date began in October last year, and the PV project with an installed capacity of 100MW could be commissioned this year, Öhrman said.