NIRAS

NIRAS has supported Svenska kraftnät on the Gotlandsförbindelsen project since spring 2023 as the marine biology and environmental consultancy responsible for documenting and assessing impacts to the marine environment along the proposed cable route across the Baltic Sea between Gotland and the Swedish mainland. The assignment covers natural-values inventories, marine ecology surveys, water and sediment sampling, and environmental-impact assessment ahead of the consenting submissions. During autumn 2024 NIRAS environmental consultants Zandra Gerdes (assignment lead for field work), Eva Isaeus, Rebecca Clausen and Matilda Rasmussen planned and executed dive-based surveys, using snorkelling and SCUBA diving in the nearshore landfall areas around Gnisvärd (Gotland) and Simpevarp/Misterhult (mainland) to identify benthic species composition and assess the likely impact of cable installation on those communities. The team also collected occurrence data on marine flora and fauna and took water and sediment samples for laboratory analysis. NIRAS's continuing scope through 2026, with an option for extension, is to describe the marine environment and quantify project impacts in the forthcoming concession application material, including modelling of underwater noise and sediment dispersal for construction activities. NIRAS will also continue to support the project's permitting processes before Energimarknadsinspektionen and Mark- och miljödomstolen (the Land and Environmental Court).