Sweden

Sweden’s energy and climate goals include the following targets:

• By 2045 at the latest, Sweden must achieve net zero emissions. Emissions from Swedish territory should be reduced by at least 85% from 1990 levels (excluding land use).
• By 2040, electricity production must be 100% fossil-free.
• By 2030, an energy efficiency target of 50% more efficient energy use compared with 2005 must be achieved. This target is expressed in terms of energy relative to GDP.

The Swedish power system is divided into four bidding areas (SE1–SE4) by the Swedish National Transmission System Operator, Svenska Kraftnät. The aim of this division is to address electricity supply-demand imbalances.

The bidding areas should pinpoint regions in Sweden where grid expansion is necessary and where increased electricity production can alleviate consumption demands, thus reducing the need for long-distance electricity transport.

Sweden and Norway share a technology-neutral, market-based support system for renewable electricity production called the electricity certificate system. This scheme has been a key driver of renewable energy deployment. The 2030 target of 46.4 TWh of new renewable electricity production was reached as early as 2021. Since the end of 2021, the scheme has been closed to new applications.

Since 2021, there has been a tax deduction for individuals installing green technology. Under this incentive:

• A 20% deduction applies to labour and material costs associated with PV installations.
• The tax deduction is capped at 50 000 SEK per person per year.
• For batteries used to store self-produced electricity and for charging equipment for electric vehicles, the deduction is 50%.
• From 1 July 2025, the PV deduction will be lowered to 15%.

In 2015, Sweden introduced a tax credit scheme for small-scale renewable electricity production. Under this scheme:

• Owners of PV systems with a main fuse ≤100 A are entitled to a feed-in premium in the form of a tax credit of 0.6 SEK per kWh of electricity fed into the grid. However, credit cannot be received for more kWh than the amount of electricity consumed from the grid.
• The tax credit is capped at 30 000 kWh (18n000 SEK) per year.
• As of 1 January 2026, the tax credit is set to expire.

Additionally, a solar electricity producer that owns one or more PV systems with a total installed capacity of less than 500 kWp is exempt from paying energy tax on self-consumed electricity, provided it is used on the same premises where the PV systems are installed.

Starting in 2022, the main program of SEA for the funding of projects related to the electricity system is Future Power Systems (Framtidens Elsystem). This is a broad research and innovation program covering topics ranging from electricity production and the electricity grid to research related to electricity use. The current program period is from 2022 to 2029, with a total budget of 1,327cMSEK. International projects are funded within the EU collaboration CETPartnership.

The Swedish Energy Agency also funds the Solar Electricity Research Centre (SOLVE), a centre of excellence that serves as a strategic partnership between research institutions, private sector stakeholders, and public sector partners. The activities in SOLVE are funded equally by the academic partners, public/private sector partners, and the Swedish Energy Agency. The total budget of SOLVE is more than 100 MSEK over five years (2022–2026).

In addition to the research funding distributed by the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova), and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) also support PV-related research. In total, about 68 MSEK was allocated by these four major institutions to Swedish PV research in 2023.

The Swedish solar cell research largely focuses on fundamental research into new types of solar cells and photovoltaic materials. Several research groups in this area are internationally recognized for their contributions. Additionally, some research groups at universities and research institutes focus on PV systems and PV integration within the energy system. Further details on active research groups are available in the National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Sweden 2021.

At the end of 2023, the cumulative installed grid-connected PV power in Sweden was close to 4.0=GW. The Swedish PV market saw 101% growth in 2023, with 1.6 GW of new capacity added. According to the National Survey Report 2023, PV accounted for about 1.9% (3.1 TWh) of Sweden’s total electricity generation in 2023.

Utility-scale solar is still in its early stages in Sweden, with the primary business model being corporate PPAs. In recent years, large-scale solar developers have formed an association to advocate for better conditions for PV parks, focusing on permitting and processing time challenges. There is a significant pipeline of PV park projects at various stages of the permitting process. Some of Sweden’s largest PV parks, each around or slightly above 20 MW, are located in Kungsåra, Studsvik, Fjällskär, and Lindesberg.

The Swedish PV industry mainly consists of small to medium-sized installers and retailers of PV modules and systems. The downstream industry of installers and retailers has been growing for several years, while there is a trend of declining upstream PV industry companies. By the end of 2023, only two active module manufacturing companies remained in Sweden, though with small production volumes. However, Sweden does have several companies manufacturing production machines, balance-of-system components, and conducting R&D.

There are no official national PV targets, but the Swedish PV industry has set a goal of reaching 30 TWh of annual solar electricity generation by 2030.

The cumulative installed grid-connected PV power in Sweden was close to 4.0 GW at the end of 2023. The annual market for PV in Sweden grew by 101% in 2023, as 1.6 GW was added.