Financing green energy projects : Funding possibilities, challange for change, and the integration of the private sector

Abstract: The world’s energy structure today relies 80 % on fossil fuels, contributing to rising temperatures and a changing climate. Society is built upon heavy energy usage and consumption is forecasted to increase rather than decrease. This implies that today’s energy mix needs thorough reconstruction where renewable energy sources must be a bigger part of the mix. There are well-known and developed green energy solutions that are not being fully exploited by society, where one explanation is the lack of funding possibilities. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate green energy projects to present further insight, integrate the private sector, and increase investments. This is done by interviewing Swedish economic associations investing in wind power to learn about concepts and experiences that can be applied by new investors when entering the green energy market. Our findings revealed that the permit process was the biggest obstacle in establishing wind turbines leading to fewer investing opportunities for private investors. Wind power in Sweden is self-sufficient with various returns hence are in no vital need for support schemes to be economically sustainable. This concludes that the government should focus on improving the permit process rather than promoting renewable energy support schemes to reach their climate goals.