Port of Stockholm resumes commitment to solar energy as Sweden’s solar tax is canceled

The Port of Stockholm announced it will switch on an 83 kW rooftop PV system at one of its facility on July 1, on the same day that the tax for renewable energy power generators over 255 kW is reduced by 98%.

The installation, which is installed on the roof of the Banankompaniet facility, will cover the energy needs of the building. “The reduction of the solar energy tax on 1st July means that photovoltaic systems can continue to expand at a rapid rate in Sweden. Ports of Stockholm is an excellent example of a company that is now continuing to establish photovoltaic systems on the roofs of its buildings. This is a direct effect of the new legislation,” said Johan Öhnell, public relations officer for the Swedish Solar Energy Commission (Solelkommissionen).

Overall, the Port of Stockholm has installed five rooftop PV power generators with a combined capacity of 548 kW to date. The largest installation is a 225 kW PV system located on the rooftop of the Magasin 6, while the smallest array, a 55 kW installation, is on the rooftop of the building of the Värtahamnen area.

The Swedish Parliament approved the government’s proposal to effectively cancel the tax on power generated by commercial PV systems for self-consumption in mid-May.

The tax, which was introduced in early 2016 by the same government that has now decided to abolish it, was not completely cancelled, but it was reduced from SEK 0.295 ($0.03)/kWh to SEK 0.005 (0.0005$)/kWh. Sweden’s finance minister Magdalena Andersson had previously explained that the tax could not be completely canceled due to technical reasons, but that it would be slashed by 98%.