OSLO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Vattenfall said on Monday it had paused development of Sweden's Kriegers Flak offshore wind power project due to a lack of clarity on how it will connect to the national grid.

Sweden gave state-owned Vattenfall permission to develop the massive Baltic Sea wind farm in 2022, with a planned production start in 2028. It is designed to produce 2.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of power per year, enough for around 500,000 homes.

Vattenfall reiterated that getting a reasonable offshore connection point to the national power grid was a key condition for investing in the project, but that this remains unresolved.

"The investment prerequisites for offshore wind in Sweden are currently not viable and Vattenfall has therefore decided to pause all further development of the project," it said.

The decision is the latest sign of the offshore wind sector's struggles under pressure from factors such as rising costs, supply chain disruptions and regulatory setbacks.

Vattenfall, which has not yet begun construction, said in a statement it could revive the project if conditions change.

Sweden's energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Denmark and Germany already have offshore wind farms on their sides of the Baltic Sea Kriegers Flak reef.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/vattenfall-halts-swedish-offshore-wind-project-over-grid-concerns-2024-09-02/