Sweden’s operational PV capacity increased from 411 MW at the end of 2018 to 698 MW a year later, according to statistics released by Swedish energy agency the Energimyndigheten.
The figures showed 2019 was the country’s best for solar deployment, with 287 MW of generation capacity added to the grid. The nation had added 180 MW in 2018 after connecting 91 MW, 13 MW, 37.6 MW and 36.2 MW, respectively, in the previous four years.
Sweden now boasts around 44,000 PV arrays, with around 19,000 added last year. The vast majority of the nation’s PV installations are no bigger than 20 kW, with projects with a capacity of more than 1 MW relatively uncommon, the agency said without providing a breakdown.
In September, the Swedish government raised the budget for this year’s residential and commercial solar rebate program from SEK736 million ($73 million) to SEK1.2 billion. With solar modules continuing to fall in price and the original 2019 rebate budget of SEK915 million bolstered, 2020 could prove another record year for solar in Sweden, provided the nation’s relative impregnability to Covid-19 continues.
