Danish company denied solar park in Sweden

A Danish energy company, European Energy, has been rejected for the construction of a large solar park near Helsingborg, Sweden, according to the Swedish news agency TT. The Swedish Land and Environment Court decided that the solar park would occupy too much space in a region used for agriculture. Under Swedish law, agricultural land can only be utilized for other purposes if there is a significant public interest and no other lands are available, as reported by the media outlet SVT. Anna Werner, director of the industry association Svensk Solenergi, expressed approval of the verdict, emphasizing the need for clear government guidelines on when agricultural interests should precede electricity production. The proposed solar park would have been Sweden’s largest, with the capacity to produce nearly 170 gigawatt-hours annually, enough to power about 35,000 households.