State of the art

In June 2006, the Parliament set the target that specific energy use in residential buildings and commercial premises should be reduced by one fifth by 2020, further reducing to half of present day levels by 2050. In addition, by 2020, the dependence of the built environment on fossil fuels for energy supplies should be broken.

The electricity certificate system was introduced in 2003, with the objective of increasing the use of electricity from renewable sources by 17 TWh between 2002 and 2016. The planning objective for wind power production includes a requirement that local authorities must have agreed plans for 10 TWh of wind power production by 2015. In addition, the 2002 Energy Policy Decision also includes measures to improve the efficiency of energy use, such as energy advisory services, technology procurement projects and the market introduction of energy efficient technology. A special conversion grant, available from 2006 until 2010, was introduced in the beginning of 2006 in order to reduce the use of oil and electricity for heating purposes in residential buildings and certain commercial premises. The grant is available for conversions to district heating, biofuel fired heating systems, heat pumps or solar heating. However, grants for conversion away from oil were withdrawn from the beginning of 2007, because all funding had been used up. Until the end of 2008, owners of public premises could apply for grants for conversion and energy efficiency improvement measures.

Investment grants of 70% for installation of PV for use by public premises was available between 2005 and 2008. In June 2009 a scheme including all buildings was started with a grant for 60% of the investment. A grant for solar heating in commercial premises and detached houses is also available until the end of 2010.

Download here The national state of the art for solar urban planning in Sweden