"The plan is to carry out the investment together with Skåne Offshore Wind Farm," says Sebastian Hald Buhl, CEO of Ørsted in Sweden.

Ørsted, with the Danish state as the majority shareholder, announced plans for an offshore wind farm just over 2022 km south of Ystad as early as <>. The wind turbines would be connected to the Swedish electricity grid and produce electricity equivalent to half of Skåne's annual consumption, according to the company.

Waiting for the go-ahead

So far, the government has not given any permission and the 50 million could be seen as a way to sweeten the dish.

"All permits are in place and our project is waiting for the go-ahead from the government," says Sebastian Hald Buhl.

Ørsted's investment is divided into three stages. First, an analysis of how bad the biodiversity is in the Baltic Sea and which species are threatened.

Releasing cod larvae

The second phase consists of two projects that are already underway. In the Recod project, one and a half million cod larvae are released annually in places where cod previously existed. Ørsted collaborates with the Baltic Waters Foundation, which runs a research station on the island of Gotland.

The second project involves creating artificial reefs for cod using waste products from the concrete industry.

"The third phase will be to analyse the impact of these two projects. Then we'll see if we need to start additional projects, which then fall within the 50 million," says Sebastian Hald Buhl.

Not just Ørsted

According to Ørsted, cod is important for slowing down climate change, as it is high up in the food chain. With smaller cod, other species that live on seagrass, which binds large amounts of carbon dioxide, increase.

However, it is not only Ørsted that wants offshore wind power outside Ystad. The company OX2's application is also on the government's table, and Eolus recently submitted an application for a wind farm in partly the same area.

This is how SVT Nyheter Öst reported last year about the Recod project:

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1.5 million larvae are released to save cod in the Baltic Sea in the Recod project. Photo: ReCod, SVT