Last year, Svenska kraftnät decided to expand the national high-voltage grid to Gotland, on behalf of the government. On Thursday, the authority signed an agreement with French Nexans to purchase power cables for over five billion kronor.
It feels fantastically good. We have worked extremely hard to accelerate the timetable and aim to be able to connect the power by 2030, says Per Eckemark, head of Svenska kraftnät's network division, to Di.
This is about enabling the large electricity-demanding climate investments planned in cement production on Gotland, according to Eckemark. He also mentions security policy reasons and that a new power connection creates conditions for more wind and solar power on Gotland.
Gotland is currently connected to the regional grid on the mainland via two power cables owned by Vattenfall. But now the power supply will be strengthened through two 220 kilovolt underwater cables connected to a station in Oskarshamn on the mainland and a station south of Visby. In total, it's about 12 miles, of which 10 miles are at sea.
The new connection to Gotland is estimated to cost around 7.5 billion kronor. In addition to the agreement with Nexans, Svenska kraftnät will also need to procure contractors and transformer stations.
