Let’s have a quiet chat about a story from Sweden. It’s not dominating the headlines, but it speaks volumes about the world we live in. An economist named Christian Steinbeck, writing in the journal Kvartal, has published a report on the country’s massive investment in wind power. The findings, detailed by Fria Tider, are a case study in modern finance.
Sweden has spent over 300 billion Kronor—roughly 30 billion euros—to erect some 6,000 wind turbines. The initial motive was clean energy. The financial outcome, however, is something else entirely. In 2024, for every 100 Kronor worth of electricity these turbines sold, it cost 151 Kronor to produce. On average since 2017, the loss has been 39 percent. This is not a marginal error; it is a fundamental imbalance.
The Baker’s Logic vs. The State’s Magic
If a baker spent €1.39 on ingredients for a loaf of bread he could only sell for €1.00, we would say his business is unsustainable. He operates in a reality of tangible inputs and outputs. His failure would be swift and clear. Yet, when a national government engages in an enterprise with the same disastrous financials, it continues unabated. This suggests a different set of rules is at play. The logic of the real economy—where value must be created—has been supplanted by the logic of the paper economy.
The Illusion of Green Profit
The report details the inherent frailties of this energy model. The power is intermittent, only generated when the wind blows. At times of high wind, a glut of power crashes the electricity price to zero or even into negative territory. In these moments, grid operators must pay consumers to use the power, or pay the wind companies to shut down their turbines to prevent a grid collapse. Beyond the direct losses, the report estimates that property values near these turbines have plummeted, wiping out approximately 100 billion Kronor in wealth for ordinary homeowners. These are real costs socialized across the population, while the subsidies are privatized for the operators.
Conjuring Capital from Thin Air
How can such a system persist? The answer lies in the source of the capital. In a sound economy, investment capital is accumulated savings, representing deferred consumption and real productive capacity. Its deployment is naturally cautious, seeking a positive return. Today, however, central banks like the European Central Bank (ECB) can create capital digitally. This money is not earned; it is issued. It has no prior connection to real goods or services.
This newly created capital requires a destination. Grand, morally-uplifting projects like a “Green Transition” are perfect vessels. They provide a righteous justification for directing these vast sums. The money flows to construction firms, engineering conglomerates, and project managers. They are paid with real purchasing power. The transaction is complete for them.
The Bill That Arrives Later
But the created money does not vanish. It enters the broader economy, bidding up the prices of goods, materials, and labor. However, it does so without having first increased the actual supply of those goods. The wind turbine, in the Swedish case, is a net consumer of value, not a net producer. The result is inflation. The ingenious, and insidious, nature of this process is that the benefits are realized immediately by a concentrated few, while the cost—inflation—is paid gradually by everyone else through the erosion of their savings and wages. It is a silent transfer of wealth, camouflaged as progress.
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Join Now →The real product is not electricity, but the redistribution of wealth and the increase of dependency. The turbine, eternally turning at a loss, is merely the physical symbol of a much deeper economic revolution.
This pattern is not unique to Sweden. The recent decision to create billions in new loans for Ukraine follows the same blueprint. The money is conjured, directed, and spent. The inflationary consequence is dispersed across the European public, a hidden tax to fund a distant conflict.
A System Working As Intended
The Swedish report concludes with a telling detail: despite the catastrophic financials, the expansion of wind power continues, and new laws may soon limit such public scrutiny. This indicates that the measured outcome—the destruction of capital—is not an unfortunate side effect. For the baker, losing money is a failure. For this system, the movement of money is the point. The real product is not electricity, but the redistribution of wealth and the increase of dependency. The turbine, eternally turning at a loss, is merely the physical symbol of a much deeper economic revolution.
For those interested in examining the original Swedish report, the analysis by Christian Steinbeck in Kvartal is summarized in this article from Fria Tider: Vindkraften pekas ut som största förstörelsen av kapital i modern tid. The detailed financial figures and specific Swedish context provide a concrete case study of these broader economic principles in action. These are not theoretical abstractions, but the recorded results of policy decisions.
https://www.friatider.se/vindkraften-pekas-ut-som-storsta-forstorelsen-av-kapital-i-modern-tid
