Read about some of the great projects that is successfully developing in Piteå.
Markbygden 1101, the largest windfarm i Europe
The realisation of Europe's largest wind farm project accelerates. Currently, construction works are ongoing in all three phases of the giant wind farm in Northern Sweden, about 20 km west from the city of Piteå. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, the aggregated capacity of the wind farm has exceeded another milestone of large-scale production of clean, renewable power. With more than 1 GW of capacity operational, Markbygden 1101 already became one of the largest realised wind farms globally in one single designated area covering about 450 km².
The project, initiated in 2002, has been developed by Svevind AB, the German-Swedish developer and split into three phases and further into several part wind farms. Wolfgang Kropp, founder and CEO of SVEVIND group, welcomes the 1 GW milestone of realisations of the MARKBYGDEN 1101 wind farm. He says: “I am proud to announce that we have reached this historic milestone of more than 1,000 Megawatt of capacity in operation among all connected wind farms, together forming the MARKBYGDEN 1101 wind farm project. It was a long way since SVEVIND first identified the great potential of the MARKBYGDEN area in Northern Sweden, west of Piteå, in 2002. Another about 1.5 Gigawatt of MARKBYGDEN 1101´s part wind farms are under construction. I want to thank everyone involved for supporting our vision to deliver a significant contribution to Sweden's energy transition.”
The operation and construction of Markbygden 1101 wind farms employs a large number of professionals. Currently, a couple of hundred people are working on the construction sites, and this number will even increase in the next months. Once fully commissioned, Markbygden 1101 is expected to produce about 8% of Sweden's total electricity demand.
Chemrec Piteå - Black liquor to DME
Chemrec's pilot plant in Piteå, which has been in use since 2004, was built in 2010 for a production of DME (DiMethylEter).
The project
Black liquor is a residual product in the production of pulp, Chemrec's plant in Piteå takes a partial stream of Smurfit Kappas black liquor flow and converts this into Synthesis gas from the gasification plant. The project, called BioDME, is funded by the EU, to complement the existing facility with a gas treatment plant and a DME production section.
The mission
The project meant for us to develop technical specifications for all process units. We submitted specifications to the cooperative Haldor Topsoe in DME production and various gas cleaning technology providers. The assignment involved work for all disciplines within the company.
The plant was ready by the end of the second quarter of 2010.
Energitekniskt Centrum i Piteå, ETC,
is a research and development centre for renewable fuels with focus on combustion and gasification processes.
ETC also works with biofuel refinery technology, gasification technology and refining "green" fuels. In collaboration with private companies and public and academic institutions, ETC carries out research and development projects, design products, analyses and solves problems associated with renewable energy sources.