Renewable Energy in the Nordic Legal Market
The area of renewable energy and the green transition continues to be a key topic in the Nordic legal market, with its importance further heightened by the geo-political circumstances in Ukraine.
Focus on the green transition
Wind farms remain a thriving area, for example Denmark’s energy islands, and with solar power becoming a more affordable option in addition to a rising interest in areas such as biogas and hydrogen, there is a clear appetite and motivation to be less dependent on fossil fuels and Russia. And connected to these political and environmental trends is the importance and activity of the mining industries in Finland and Sweden.
However, despite the world’s increased focus on the green transition, the oil and gas sector remains a key industry in the Norwegian market, and the energy crisis caused by the Russia/Ukraine war has led to considerable activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Active competition authorities in the Nordic Legal Market
Most of the Nordic legal markets have observed highly active competition authorities, with Danish lawyers reporting an increase in sanctions from the DCCA, lawyers in Finland discussing the lowering of the merger control threshold, and Norwegian lawyers highlighting the NCA’s recent focus on the grocery sector. Conversely, lawyers in Sweden regularly report that the SCA has been largely inactive in recent times.
Whilst the SCA might have been less active in comparison to neighbouring authorities, an interesting development in the Swedish market is the SCA’s increased power around enforcing fines and investigating matters.
