Ørsted probing Swedish offshore wind sites

Leading offshore wind developer Ørsted plans to start a consultation process on the Skåne offshore wind project in Sweden this spring.

The project is in an early development phase and the consultation is part of the permitting procedure, Ørsted said.

The wind farm covers an area of around 450 square kilometres located some 22 kilometres off Sweden’s southernmost county – Skåne.

The project will have the capacity of up to 1,500 MW.

Ørsted has already started investigations to gain a better understanding of the environment and the conditions within the area.

Data collection on fish and the benthic habitats, as well as the seabed, are expected to start soon.

Ørsted plans to apply for a drilling permit in order to gain a better understanding of the soil conditions at the site. The drilling will be carried out within the project area for the planned wind farm and along associated cable corridors.

The information collected will form the basis for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and will be included in the permit applications required to build and operate the wind farm.

The project will take in views from stakeholders such as authorities, organizations, and the general public as part of the EIA process in 2021.

Apart from the Skåne project, Ørsted is also developing the Gotland offshore wind farm.

This project will also have the capacity of up to 1,500 MW. The wind farm is located some 10 kilometres southwest of Gotland and covers an area of around 370 square kilometres.

Here too, Ørsted has started investigations to gain a better understanding of the environment within the area.