Sweden Says Goodbye to Coal Two Years Early

Sweden’s last remaining coal-fired power plant was scheduled to shut down in 2022, but thanks to a mild winter – and possibly also the COVID-19 pandemic – the energy company that owns the plant saw no reason to wait any longer!

Stockholm Exergi took the step to close down the cogeneration plant in April, marking Sweden as Europe’s third country to cut off its dependency on coal, following Belgium in 2016 and Austria last month.

“Since Stockholm was almost totally fossil-dependent 30-40 years ago, we have made enormous changes and now we are taking the step away from carbon dependency and continuing the journey towards an energy system entirely based on renewable and recycled energy,” says Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, in a translated statement.

While the mild weather positively impacted Sweden’s recent energy use, the coronavirus pandemic may have also played a role: Britain, for example, hit a personal record of 18 days without using coal-powered electricity, due to people needing less power during the outbreak and lockdowns.