Prospects for Wind Energy Development in Consideration of a Cumulative Appraisal of Botanical, Faunal, Societal, and Cultural Values in Swedish Boreal Forests

Abstract: Renewable energy development is breaking global records each year. European and national Swedish legislation target substantial portions of wind energy production by 2040. Sweden has ambitious objectives for wind energy, with plans to nearly triple its wind energy proportion in the next 17 years. However, expanding wind energy also requires using forest lands, which raises concerns for biodiversity and landscape fragmentation. The objective of this study is to determine the values impacted by wind energy development in the Swedish boreal forest to identify appropriate low-impact locations for the construction of Wind Turbine Generators (WTG). The study employs an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and a Weighted Overlay Analysis (WOA) to categorise potential areas for WTG deployment. Twenty-four input constraints are distributed into six categories and analysed in three stages, resulting in a suitability map and a numerical data output. The analysis conducted across six northern boreal counties indicates that significant parts of northern Sweden are unsuitable for wind energy development due to insufficient wind speeds and numerous water bodies. Cultural and botanical value areas further limit some areas' potential for wind energy development. The findings indicate that 25.85% of the northernmost six counties are viable for constructing wind energy facilities, surpassing the national target area for renewable energy by a considerable margin. The research indicates that forested boreal counties in Sweden provide significant potential for the sustainable development of wind energy, whilst preserving biodiversity and avoiding interference with faunal, societal, and cultural values.