COPENHAGEN, July 27 (Reuters) – The Swedish government has rejected utility Vattenfall’s application to construct a wind farm at Stora Middelgrund on Sweden’s west coast, the ministry for climate and enterprise said in a statement on Thursday.

Vattenfall had said it planned to build around 50 wind turbines at Stora Middelgrund, each measuring some 290 metres (950 feet) in height, with the aim of producing between 2.5 and 3.0 terrawatt hours (TWh) of power per year.

A spokesperson for Vattenfall said in an email that the company regretted the government’s announcement, adding “we will now analyze the decision more closely to see what consequences it brings.”

“An establishment at Stora Middelgrund would risk damaging sensitive natural values in an unacceptable way,” Minister for climate and environment Romina Pourmokhtari said in a statement.

“The risk of negative impact on national interests in shipping has also weighed heavily in the Government’s assessment,” she said.

Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Emma Rumney

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