The municipal veto has so far stopped almost all current onshore wind power projects in 2025. Between January 1 and September 12, 26 out of 29 projects were stopped, new statistics show.

The figures for 2025 show that the proportion of vetoes from municipalities to new wind power projects has increased from previous years. Over the past five years, municipalities have said yes to around 50 – 70 percent of the projects. So far this year, municipalities have stopped 26 out of 29 projects. This corresponds to 346 out of 359 wind turbines that together had the potential to contribute 7.3 TWh. This means a clear negative direction for getting new wind power, and thus new electricity production needed for the transition, in place in the coming years.

Ina Müller Engelbrektson, industry lawyer at Green Power Sweden
"In practice, almost all projects are stopped, and investments in new renewable electricity production risk being completely abandoned."

In September 2024, the government promised money to municipalities starting in 2025 that corresponds to the property tax paid by wind power, and incentives for local residents and communities. The government has not yet implemented any of these measures.

Ina Müller Engelbrektson, industry lawyer at Green Power Sweden
"In order for municipalities to say yes to new wind power projects, the government must immediately ensure that the compensation to the municipalities is paid, but also that the promised incentives to local residents and the local community are in place. Every month of delay means that projects are postponed to the future or never come to fruition."

Large regional differences within the country

In Dalarna County, the municipalities have so far this year stopped all projects to establish wind farms, despite a report from the Central Sweden Chamber of Commerce showing that two out of three companies in the region would be very negatively affected if not enough new electricity production and capacity is added to the region by 2030. Kronoberg also stands out as a county where the municipalities have used the veto power to deny several wind power projects during 2025. One of the few projects that has received the municipality's approval is in Skåne County, where no projects have received the approval of the municipalities in nine years. However, the current project does not concern new construction but the replacement of existing wind turbines for increased electricity production.

On behalf of Green Power Sweden, Westander Climate and Energy has made a statistical compilation of municipalities' use of the municipal veto for onshore wind power during the period January 1–September 12, 2025.

• In total, 26 out of 29 wind power projects were stopped by municipal vetoes. This corresponds to 346 out of 359 wind turbines that together had the potential to contribute 7.3 TWh.
• Compared to previous years, the proportion of stopped projects is even higher, which coincides with the government not yet implementing the announced compensation to municipalities or incentives to local residents and the local community.
• When applying to establish a wind turbine, the developer needs to get approval from the relevant municipality for the project. This is a prerequisite for the review authority to be able to decide whether the project should be granted a permit.
• Definition of municipal veto 2025: the municipality has made a decision to stop, or a majority of the municipal council has said they will stop, a project.