The local funding for 2015 from the Glötesvålen wind farm amounted to SEK 485,611. The money will be used primarily for lowering the cost of connection to the fibre network in Glöte. This was recently decided at the annual general meeting of the local residents' association, Glöte Byalag.
"The residents of Glöte have wanted faster Internet, and better and more reliable telephony for a long time. Now that the municipality of Härjedalen has invested heavily in the development of the fibre network in our area, we are ensuring that costs can be lowered even further," says Ulla Stenberg, secretary to Glöte Byalag's board.
SEK 310,000 of local funding will be spent on lowering prices for those who are interested in connecting to the fibre network. The development project is being run by the municipality of Härjedalen, with the support of government funding. Currently, around 90 percent of full-time residents and 70 percent of all the properties in Glöte have expressed an interest.
"Sustainability is a central part of our business concept and Glötesvålen wind farm gives the IKEA Group completely energy independence in the Nordic region. If we are to be able to grow and meet our vision of creating better everyday life for most of the population, we must take into account both the people and the environment in which we operate," says Jonas Carlehed, sustainability manager at IKEA Sweden.
"Local funding of this size means a lot for a sparsely inhabited area like Glöte," says Jan Olof Dahlin, project manager at OX2. This shows the enormous local benefit that a large wind farm can create in good wind conditions. And this is just the beginning - the local funding will be considerable every year, depending on how much the wind blows and the trends in electricity prices.
Other major areas of investment made possible thanks to Local Funding 2015:
- Glöte Snowmobile Club receives SEK 45,000 for trail and land contracts
- SEK 33,993 (7%) will be allocated to a future fund
- Café Bönan will receive SEK 30,000. The café opened last year and is the only café in the village. This will, among other things, lead to lower prices in order to attract more visitors.
- Glöte Byalag will receive SEK 25,000 for the development of a wind energy exhibition at Glötegården and guided tours of the wind farm.
For more information, please contact:
Glöte Byalag, +46 (0)70 541 30 80
Emil Eriksson, Press Contact IKEA Sweden, +46 (0)72 886 55 57
Jan Olof Dahlin, Project Manager OX2, + 46 (0)70 608 55 59
Facts about Local Funding at Glöte
IKEA distributes 0.5 percent of the gross income from the wind farm each year in order to promote development of the Glöte district. The board of the resident's association, Glöte Byalag, processes and decides on their members' applications for different projects. The Local Funding scheme was originally instituted by OX2, which designed, built and now manages the wind farm. A cooperation agreement with Glöte Byalag was signed as early as 2002.
Facts about Glötesvålen wind farm
The wind farm is located on the foothills of Glötesvålen, approximately five miles north-west of Sveg in Härjedalen. The installation, which has the highest location in Scandinavia, consists of 30 wind turbines that are expected to produce 220 GWh/year. OX2 handed over the park, once commissioned, to its owner the IKEA Group, in December 2014.
