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Nordic power markets: at the heart of Europe’s energy transition
With Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden leading the way on renewables
integration we explore the outlook for the Nordic power markets
31 August 2021
1 minute read
By Peter Osbaldstone, Research Director, Europe Power and Renewables, Dan Eager,
Principal Analyst, Europe Power and Renewables and Rory McCarthy, Senior Research
Manager, European Power and Renewables.
The Nordics have taken an early lead in the energy transition race. With a heavy focus on
renewable power and abundant system flexibility, the region is arguably decades ahead of
other markets and will play a pivotal role in wider European net zero ambitions. So, how is the
Nordic power mix evolving and what will that mean for power prices in the region?
In our new long term outlook for the Nordic power markets, the latest development of our
Europe Power Service, we used our EPSI Europe platform to model supply-demand dynamics
and power prices to 2050. We explored our findings in a recent webinar. Read on for a recap of
some of the key points and fill in the form to access a selection of our presentation slides.
The Nordics lead the world on renewables integration
The Nordic countries feature world-leading levels of renewable power – and, historically, the
lowest power prices in Europe. Hydropower is currently prevalent. Norway, for example,
features near 100% renewable supply, and 80% of that comes from highly flexible hydropower.
Denmark, meanwhile, has the world's highest level of wind and solar penetration, thanks to
early policy direction. And Sweden and Finland both encompass high levels of renewable
integration, supplemented with nuclear.
Abundant resource means wind will continue to grow across the region, with wind and solar
together overtaking hydro as the Nordics’ dominant source of power by 2038. While hydro will
continue to provide much-needed flexibility, it will be part of a more dynamic mix.
Rising demand in the Nordic region will be outstripped by supply
The Nordics’ power mix will have to cope with increasing demand. We expect a 30% boost –
predominantly from electric vehicles, the electrification of heat, data centres and battery
giga-factories – increasing from 390 terawatt hours (TWh) today to 540 TWh by 2050.
However, as the demand line on the chart above shows, this rise will be outstripped by the
increase in supply. Growth will be driven mostly by onshore and offshore wind, with solar also
contributing. Hydro will stay relatively steady in absolute terms but will have a reduced supply
share. Nuclear’s contribution will also reduce as Sweden completes its phase-out, leaving only
Finnish plants in operation.
Growing oversupply means the region will expand its role as a net exporter of low-carbon
power and system flexibility.