Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg County
Energy Agency for Southeast Sweden is mainly working in the area of Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg County. Kalmar, Kronobergs and Blekinge Counties are situated in the southeast of Sweden.
Blekinge County: 153 000 inhabitants, area: 2 941 km²
Kalmar County: 234 000 inhabitants, area: 11 694 km²
Kronobergs County: 183 000 inhabitants, area: 8 426 km²
(numbers collected from Statistics Sweden and respective County Administrative Board)
The region has a population of approximately 570 000 inhabitants which is about ten percent of the Swedish population. The area of the three counties all together is approximately 23 100 km² (nine percent of Sweden) with miscellaneous landscape of forest, farming and lake districts. The region is highly industrialised and is well-known for its entrepreneurial traditions.
The region is characterised by a few cities surrounded by minor urban areas and large sparsely populated rural areas. The population density is low (20 inh/km2), on the average level for Sweden, but in some areas under 10 ihb/km2 or even lower. Major cities is Kalmar in the countiy of Kalmar, Växjö in Kronoberg and Karlskrona in Blekinge.
The region is one of the most industrialised in regions in Scandinavia with a large proportion of employees in industry especially manufacturing. The main industrial sectors are machinery, automotive industry, polymer technology, aluminium use, glass design and furniture, construction industry, wood processing and wooden houses, energy and environmental technology as well as food industry and tourism. Well-known brands from the region are Orrefors, IKEA, Electrolux, ITT-Flygt, Fläkt Woods, Kährs, NIBE, Scania, Volvo Articulated Haulers and Slip Naxos. The region is also the centre of for the southern Swedish forest industry, e.g. the headquarter of the Södra group is situated in Växjö.
Regional energy targets
| Blekinge | Kalmar | Kronoberg | |
| CO2 emissions per pers 2010 | 3.8 tons | 4.4 tons | 3.5 tons |
| CO2 decrease | With 35 % from 5.9 tons 1995 | 15 % from 1990 | 22 % from 1990 |
| RES 2010 | 50% | 50 % (reached) | 50 % |
Renewable energy sources today accounts for 47 percent of the energy supply in Blekinge, 60 percent in Kalmar and approximately 45 percent in Kronoberg. Wooden biomass energy accounts for 4,7 TWh in Blekinge, 1,5 TWh in Kronoberg and 6,5 TWh in Kalmar where 90 percent is used by industry. Industrial and domestic waste, peat etc accounts for 290 GWh in Kalmar and Kronoberg. Solar energy is increasing, but solar heating only accounts for a few GWh in the region (e.g. 50 kW at IKEA in Älmhult).
The electricity in region is to almost 60 percent generated from renewables inside and outside the region. In both Kalmar and Kronoberg more than 20% of the electricity demand is generated locally in wind power stations, hydro power stations, CHP plants as well as in industrial back pressure power plants. This is a progress since 1995 when only 7 percent of the electric power was generated locally in Kalmar and only 12 percent in Kronoberg. This is a result of the development of wind power and the doubling of industrial back pressure power (based on biofules) in the case of Kalmar and of increased power generation in biomass fuelled CHP plants (280 GWh) in the case of Kronoberg. Industrial back pressure in Kalmar and Kronoberg generates almost 1 Twh while local wind power generates 200 GWh and local hydro power 300 GWh.
Wind power generates today approximately for almost 100 GWh in the region. The wind power based production accounts for 27 GWh in Blekinge and 54 GWh in Kalmar (67 GWh in 2002). The two off shore farms at Utgrunden ( 10 MW) and Yttre Stengrund (10 MW) accounts for the ,major part of wind power production in Kalmar.
District heating increase significantly during the last two decades and today 0,49 Twh of district heating is produced in Blekinge, 0,9 TWh in Kalmar and approximately 1 TWh in Kronoberg. Biofuels supply more than 90 percent of the district heating, mainly wooden bio mass (more than 70 percent). In the region there are approximately 60 district heating systems and 12 CHP plants. To this approximately 40 industrial bio fuelled energy plants (1 MW) should be added.