Hydropower is an important source of energy, which is unique among renewable electricity sources due to its controllability. This is how Holmen works with hydropower.
Among renewable energy sources, hydropower is unique in that it is controllable. Thanks to its controllability, hydropower helps to keep the price and availability of energy at a stable level.
Hydropower is a valuable asset that generates low-cost electricity and has a lifespan that borders on eternal. Hydropower is also important for society, as production can be directed to times when it is most needed. In this way, it enables a transition to a power system with a low climate impact.
Hydropower is Sweden's largest source of renewable energy and currently accounts for about 40 percent of total energy production. We have relatively plenty of water and thanks to large dams, water can be stored and used for production when the need is greatest.
In total, there are more than 2,000 hydropower plants in Sweden. Of these, just over 200 are larger, with an output of 10 MW or more.
Hydropower plants convert potential energy from water into electrical power. The water is stored in dams, and then released through a turbine, which then starts to rotate. The potential energy of the water is thus converted into mechanical energy.
The turbine drives a generator that converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy. The water flow and head then determine how much electricity can be produced in the power plant.
The construction of a hydropower plant involves large initial investment costs, but both the technical and the economic lifespan are long.
Hydropower has no fuel costs and the supply of water in Sweden is good and stable. In addition, hydropower can be regulated based on demand. Therefore, hydropower is a relatively safe investment.
Since February 2023, Holmen has been a co-financier of the Hydropower Environmental Fund. Hydropower is the backbone of Sweden's fossil-free energy system and a prerequisite for Swedish industry to be competitive and able to switch from oil to fossil-free electricity.
As a co-financier of the Hydropower Environmental Fund, we take responsibility and stand behind the energy agreement that was entered into in 2016: that the energy industry finances wise environmental adaptations of Swedish hydropower, while electricity production from hydropower should not decrease by more than a maximum of 1.5 TWh.
We want to contribute to modern environmental conditions for Sweden's hydropower through constructive dialogues between authorities and industry, where well-thought-out trade-offs are made between adaptations that provide the greatest environmental benefit in Sweden and between other societal benefits such as renewable electricity production and the regulating capacity of electricity in Sweden's electricity grid.
In addition to owning and co-owning a total of 21 hydropower plants, Holmen is also a major consumer of fossil-free electricity. This is because we have converted our industries from being powered by fossil fuels to today being run mostly on fossil-free electricity and bioenergy. In other words, we have already made the energy transition that a large part of Sweden's industries are now planning.
Access to fossil-free electricity is crucial to meeting the Paris Agreement and a prerequisite for meeting all of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Climate change is a major threat to the plants and animals that live in our waterways.
Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the new, modern environmental conditions that are now to be developed for all hydropower plants in Sweden are also sustainable, i.e. balance the environment and climate, human needs and economic profitability. At Holmen, we want to be part of this important work.
You can read more about the Hydropower Environmental Fund here.
