Sweden's Industry Minister wants create a new green-energy firm.

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Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall, Europe's fifth-largest electricity producer, may be privatized. Center Party leader and Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson has revived the idea of partially privatizing the utility.

The sell off could generate 10 billion kronor ($1.4 billion). The minister said that the money could be reinvested in a new company specializing in developing cutting edge energy solutions. The company would be called Framtidsenergi AB (Future Energy) and would invest in novel energy solutions and create new green jobs.

The new company would work in close collaboration with firms from the private sector, Maud Olofsson wrote in an opinion piece in newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Opposition Social Democrates slammed the idea. Economic spokesperson Thomas Östros said it would drive up electricity prices and called Vattenfall “the crown jewel of public ownership”.

Maud Olofsson told Swedish Radio News she has mentioned the idea to the leaders of the other three coalition parties (Moderate Party, Liberal Party and Christian Democrates), but they haven’t discussed the issue.

Vattenfall posted improved second quarter earnings but said profitability was “insufficient”. Sales rose 18 percent to 49.7 billion kronor while net profit doubled to 5.2 billion kronor.