28 August was the deadline for submitting competing applications for the establishment of offshore wind farms on the Liivi 1 and Liivi 2 sites. Six competing applications were submitted for both sites, with the initial application bringing the total to seven. For the offshore areas, Liivi Offshore OÜ, Aker Offshore Wind Europe GmbH, Viru Keemia [...]
WindEurope has summarised the development of offshore wind energy in Europe in the first half of 2023. How does the Baltic Sea look in comparison to Europe? Below we present details of the projects under construction during this period. Europe built 2.1 GW of new offshore wind in the first half of 2023, bringing its [...]
In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, 17th of August, the Estonian government gave its backing to the green reform action plan for 2023-2025 drafted by the Government Office. The plan brings together almost 300 different actions in fields ranging from energy to the circular economy. It aims to reduce negative environmental impact, to foster entrepreneurship [...]
The government of Estonia has approved its European Union policy priorities for 2023-2025, with a strong emphasis on renewable energy and sustainable development. In the face of geopolitical challenges, Estonia aims to bolster its visibility and influence within the EU through innovative approaches and garnering support from other Member States. Key among Estonia's priorities is [...]
Elering, AST and Litgrid, operators of the electricity transmission systems of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, signed an agreement on the synchronisation. According to the agreement, disconnection from the Russian-controlled system and synchronous connection to the continental European grid will take place in February 2025. The agreement also stipulates that the Baltic countries will jointly withdraw [...]
A renewables-focused integrated utility Ignitis Group’s subsidiary Ignitis Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) New Markets Fund I have signed an agreement to collaborate exclusively on offshore wind opportunities in Estonia and Latvia and intend to jointly bid in the upcoming offshore wind tenders in these countries. The partnership leverages Ignitis Group’s leading market position [...]
According to the latest report from Aegir Insights, the Baltic states, comprising Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, are rapidly advancing their offshore wind energy initiatives, capitalizing on the vast potential of the Baltic Sea to drive Europe's energy transition. This surge in activity aligns with the region's heightened focus on energy security, independence, and renewable energy [...]
The Latvia-Estonia cross-border offshore wind project ELWIND has received approval for EUR 18.7 million in co-funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency CINEA. The funding for the research needed to develop the project has been granted under the European Union funding programme Connecting Europe Facility. The co-funding will enable high-quality research to determine the [...]
Tallinn, Estonia – The Consumer Protection and Technical Surveillance Authority (CTA) has announced its intention to initiate a building permit procedure for the construction of a marine wind farm in the Liivi 2 area. The application for a building permit was submitted by OÜ Utilitas Wind on April 29, 2020. The proposed offshore wind farm [...]
On 13 June the meeting of the ministers of defence from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) partner nations took place in Amsterdam. The topics on the meeting agenda included cooperation to support Ukraine and to promote the security situation in the neighbouring areas. The UK-led JEF is a multilateral framework for defence cooperation formed by [...]
Baltic Workboats (BWB) and Damen Shipyards have signed a partnership agreement for a program of building Damen’s popular crew transfer vessel, the Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710, at BWB’s facility on Saaremaa Island in Estonia. With the Baltic Sea joining the North Sea as an area of rapid expansion for the offshore wind industry, building [...]
The 20th Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Ministerial Session, held in Wismar, Germany, concluded on 2 June 2023, with key outcomes demonstrating solidarity against Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine, commitment to climate neutrality and renewable energy, and an emphasis on youth participation and societal resilience in the Baltic Sea Region. The 20th Council [...]
According to a recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are making significant strides in energy security, with a particular focus on the development of offshore wind farms. This move comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which prompted these nations to [...]
GORIO is one of the projects selected and supported by CEF Energy under the call for preparatory studies for cross-border renewable energy (CB RES) projects launched in 2021. Supported with a total of EUR 99,000, GORIO is ran and coordinated by Eesti Energi, a public limited energy company in Estonia. The project aims to develop, [...]
Renewable energy developer European Energy and offshore wind company Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Plenitude (Eni) and HitecVision, announce a long-term strategic partnership to jointly pursue offshore wind opportunities in the Baltic Sea within Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic states have significant offshore wind potential, with a total of 15.4 GW of estimated possible [...]
CEOs and other executives from the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of the Baltic Sea countries met in Berlin to further intensify cooperation. The meeting was attended by AST (Latvia), Elering (Estonia), Energinet (Denmark), Fingrid (Finland), Litgrid (Lithuania), PSE (Poland), Statnett (Norway) and Svenska Kraftnät (Sweden). The companies' managers gave a positive assessment of how the [...]
Taavi Veskimägi, CEO of the Estonian transmission system operator for electricity and gas Elering warns that planned generation from offshore wind farms in Estonia exceeds the capacity of local grid. According to Veskimägi, the society should consider what will happen to offshore wind units, because not all the power they are to generate will “fit [...]
The necessity to prevent the effects of frozen sea surface will drive up costs of building offshore wind turbines in the Baltic Sea, according to Lauri Ulm, head of wind developments at Enefit Green, renewable unit of the Estonian power company Eesti Energia. As the Baltic Sea can freeze over in winter, wind farms will [...]
The area earmarked for wind farms in the maritime spatial plan will be divided into three to four parts and put up for auction in September. The winners of the auctions will play a key role in Estonia’s energy future. A total of 44 construction permit applications have been submitted for an area covering nearly [...]
The BalticSeaH2 hydrogen valley project will develop the first significant cross-border hydrogen valley in Europe. The goal is to create an integrated hydrogen economy in the Southern Finland and Estonian region, which enables the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from various industries and the region’s energy self-sufficiency. The area is connected to the wider market [...]
Port of Tallinn and Utilitas Wind have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of accelerating the development of offshore wind energy in Estonia and the Baltic States. Cooperation in the development, construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms will enable new business opportunities while developing local expertise. According to Valdo Kalm, the CEO [...]
The year 2022 was full of events that are permanently changing the conditions for the offshore wind industry. We asked industry leaders and key policy-makers for their assessment of what has been achieved in the past year and what the forecasts are for 2023. In today’s interview of the „Baltic Sea Offshore Wind – 2022 [...]
The Consumer Protection and Technical Supervision Agency (TTJA) approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) program of the Saare-Liivi offshore wind farm developed by Utilitas Wind. Usually, the environmental studies begin after the program is approved. In the case of the Saare-Liivi offshore wind farm, the surveys started already during the compilation of the program and [...]
Estonian government decided on splitting Gulf of Riga wind farm (Liivi), the most advanced offshore project in the Baltic States, from its to-date owner, state-owned power company Eesti Energia. "During the budgeting phase, Eesti Energia owned the project, but now that the activity has progressed and extensive environmental and technological studies are being conducted, it [...]
The energy crisis in the Baltic Sea region might be solved by generating less expensive power in Estonia instead of building another “A to B” link with Finland, according to the CEO of Estonian power company Eesti Energia Hando Sutter. In his opinion, another submarine cable in the Baltic Sea region should rather run along [...]
EU countries have earmarked around 52,000 km2 for wind energy development, as shown in WindEurope's analysis of offshore spatial plans. Such an area, if fully utilized, will allow the installation of 220 GW of wind power. Among the leaders are Belgium and Germany, which together want to allocate 15% of their territorial waters for wind [...]
Estonian government approved activities designed to streamline the transition to the use of renewable energy at cabinet meeting on November 10th. The country has set itself the goal of producing as much renewable electricity by 2030 as its total annual consumption. The accelerated development of renewable energy will focus on wind power, with the government [...]
The leaders of the Baltic Sea electricity transmission system operators met in Helsinki on 2nd of November to discuss the energy crisis in Europe and the electricity adequacy of the region. The transmission system operators of the Baltic Sea region actively cooperate and share information on the security and the electricity supply situation in the [...]
Today, the Estonian Government confirmed the location of the ELWIND joint Estonian-Latvian offshore wind energy project in the Estonian maritime area. Based on studies and analyses, the most suitable development area for the joint project in Estonian waters is the sea area west of the Sõrve peninsula. "Estonia's offshore wind energy is an untapped potential [...]
On August 25, the Estonian government backed a draft proposal from the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure to accelerate the transition to renewable electricity, so that by 2030 all electricity consumed in Estonia will be generated from renewable energy sources. […]
In July of this year, Enefit, a developer, signed a contract to prepare a conceptual engineering design for a wind farm. The project is co-financed by the European Union. […]
On 30 August 2022 the Heads of Governments and Energy Ministers of the 8 countries around the Baltic Sea signed the Marienborg Declaration. They committed to new volumes for the build-out of offshore wind in the Baltic Sea and agreed to cooperate more closely on it and on energy more [...]
On the 4th of August, the government of the Republic of Estonia decided to initiate a national designated spatial plan for building the electricity connection to the Gulf of Riga, so that the offshore wind farm of AS Eesti Energia can be connected to the main grid on land. “One of the main tasks [...]
Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has rejected Sunly Wind OU’s application for a permit to build an offshore wind farm near Hiiumaa Island, reports BNS. […]
The Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) passed amendments to the Natural Gas Act and other related laws during one of the session. The amendments also provide new solutions for onshore and offshore wind power in Estonia. […]
Port of Tallinn and Sunly, an investor in the renewable energy sector, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea countries. Sunly has plans to develop offshore wind farms in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. […]
Estonian and Finnish transmission system operators Elering and Fingrid have signed a letter of intent to begin the planning process for a third submarine cable link connecting Finland and Estonia. […]
The supervisory board of Port of Tallinn decided to invest up to EUR 53 million to build a new 310-meter quay with a 10-hectare area beyond the quay in Paldiski South Harbour. The investment is co-financed by European Commission in the amount of EUR 20 million through the military mobility project EstMilMob, which aims to [...]
The Baltic Regional Coordination Centre (Baltic RCC) has officially started operations in Tallinn. An executive was elected for this purpose. The purpose of the center will be to coordinate the planning of the development of electricity systems as well as some of the day-to-day activities of the operators to guarantee the security of electricity supply. [...]
The State Shared Service Centre (Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus, RTK) has issued a tender for a service including a preliminary spatial analysis to determine the feasibility of planning offshore wind farms in the Hiiu region. […]
The Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) has announced that it will start the procedure of analyzing applications for construction permits for 20 offshore wind farms. On May 12, the Estonian government passed the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan, which gives TTJA the opportunity to carry out procedures for [...]
An offshore wind farm developer is set to take the government to court after they were denied permission to develop a project off Estonia’s northwest coast, as reports Estonian media. […]
The government adopted the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan on May 12. It will form the basis for the future organization of maritime actions. […]
Enefit Green signed an agreement to prepare a preliminary design for the offshore wind farm planned north of Hiiumaa. According to the plans, the technical analysis of the farm will be completed in August this year. […]
There is no longer any doubt that wind energy in the Baltic Sea region will play a key role in the development of green hydrogen production. Recently, the BASREHRT project – the Baltic Sea Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Experts Roundtable – was launched. It is a platform for cooperation in [...]
Estonian grid operator Elering and Latvian operator Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) commissioned consulting firm BLIX to complete a four-level study that concludes that there are no obstacles to the healthy development of offshore wind in the Baltic Sea region. […]
In the wake of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, the operators of the Baltic transmission systems – Augstsprieguma tīkls of Latvia, Litgrid of Lithuania, and Elering of Estonia – have agreed to limit the total capacity of electricity imports from Russia. […]
Latvian electricity system operator AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) has announced that a Regional Coordination Center for the Baltic region will be established this year. A special company, Baltic RCC, will be established for this purpose. […]
The Baltic Sea will be one of the European regions supporting the European Union’s energy transition. Particular potential is seen in offshore wind energy. We talk about the role of the Baltic Sea in decarbonising the region’s economies with Rytis Kėvelaitis, Founder and CEO at Energy Unlimited. Kėvelaitis stressed that three Baltic states, Lithuania, [...]
A Dutch trade mission will visit the Baltic States from 31 January to 4 February 2022. Representatives of the Dutch offshore wind industry will look for business opportunities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. […]
Representatives of Estonian companies, looking for opportunities to develop offshore wind industry, paid a visit to Norway in order to learn about Norwegian industry and offshore potential. Estonia hopes to improve cooperation between offshore partners in the Baltic Sea region. The visit was announced by the Estonian Investment Agency (EIA). [...]
According to the latest opinion polls commissioned by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonians mostly support the development of offshore wind farms. […]
The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia has announced that the final draft of the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan has been prepared. The document will be available to the public for a month and will be submitted to the government for adoption at the end of the year. [...]
The Presidents of the Baltic States, i.e. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, met on 15 November in Vilnius and signed the “Baltic Road to Climate Neutrality” Declaration . The document envisages joint action and cooperation of the Baltic States in a number of areas for the benefit of the climate. Among [...]
The Baltic electricity transmission system operators (TSO) Elering, AST (JSC “Augstsprieguma tīkls”) and Litgrid entered into an agreement to establish a Baltic Regional Coordination Centre (RCC) based in Tallinn and submitted a corresponding proposal to the competition authorities of the three countries. […]
The Estonian TSO Elering AS and the Latvian TSO Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) are developing a business case, investigating the possibilities to invest in an offshore grid. In order to evaluate the business cases of future projects, an offshore grid technology catalogue is needed. BLIX Consultancy has been commissioned to perform [...]
Estonian media reports that the Ministry of the Environment has approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) program for the Saare offshore wind farm. The wind power plant, with a capacity of up to 1400 MW, will be installed in the waters off the western side of the island of Saaremaa. The [...]
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Latvia on 15th October. She met with Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, with whom she discussed, among other things, on energy security. One of the topics discussed was offshore wind energy. […]
Hando Sutter, CEO of Estonian company Eesti Energia, addressed Konkurentsiamet, the Estonian Competition Authority, concerning offshore wind energy development. Sutter doubts that grid operator Elering is treating all market participants equally. […]
Estonian energy company Eesti Energia has announced that work has begun on the environmental impact assessment of the Liivi offshore wind farm, which will be built in the waters of the Gulf of Riga. A consulting firm Skepast&Puhkim is responsible for preparing the assessment. The Liivi offshore wind farm will be located about 10 km [...]
On 16 August WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson spoke at the kick-off meeting of the ELWIND project, the joint Estonia/Latvia project to develop a hybrid offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. Dickson gave an introduction about offshore wind developments in Europe and shared the experience of past and existing [...]
The Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications announced the selection of a contractor for a preliminary feasibility study for the ELWIND offshore wind farm project. Hendrikson & KO and Pondera Consult will take on the challenges. […]
Port of Tallinn has unveiled an ambitious plan to design the hub of the Baltic Sea green infrastructure in Estonia together with the partners, which would contribute to Estonia’s climate neutrality goals and increase the country’s competitiveness. It is also looking for the best ways to convert ferries to hydrogen [...]
The Transmission System Operators – Latvian AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) and Estonian Elering AS, in scope of the ELWIND project, together with an Estonian consultant Skepast & Puhkim OÜ will carry out an in-depth study of possible onshore land line corridors towards the planned offshore wind park sites which have [...]
Estonian electricity system operator Elering and the Latvian system operator AST formally launched the third Estonian-Latvian electricity connection, which inter alia creates the prerequisites for developing an offshore network and the related building of offshore wind farms. […]
A public procurement notice for the construction of an Estonian-Latvian offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea has appeared in the Estonian Public Procurement Register. The tender concerns the implementation of the ELWIND feasibility study. […]
It looks like developer Saare Wind Energy will build a much larger farm in Estonian waters near Saaremaa Island. The Sõrve wind farm will have increased capacity from 600 to 1400 MW – at least this is what the investor wants. […]
In May, the Estonian government presented to the public the offshore development project for evaluation. Mart Undrest, the head of the Estonian Fishermen's Association, referred to the plans for the development of offshore energy in the Estonian media. They are afraid of destroying fisheries. In May 2021, the Estonian Ministry of Finance presented to the [...]
As reported by the Estonian media, Eesti Energia, which plans to build an offshore wind farm with Danish Ørsted, accuses the Estonian operator of partiality in the development of the electricity network. In the opinion of Hando Sutter, the head of Eesti Energia, the operator did not include the wind farm project planned by [...]
In the pages of the Estonian ERR website, Juhan Hellerma writes about development plans for offshore wind energy in Estonia. It turns out that the expected environmental impact of marine installations may be much lower than originally predicted. The Estonian land use plan designates three sea areas for the development of offshore wind farms. [...]
Not long ago, Eesti Energia started cooperation with the Danish tycoon Ørsted to build an offshore wind farm in the waters of the Gulf of Riga. The Estonian company stands by its plans, but would like the state to provide investment guarantees. The head of Eesti Energia, Hando Sutter, told the ERR portal about [...]
Estonian energy group Eesti Energia announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue producing electricity from oil shale by 2030 and will focus on developing offshore wind farms, energy storage systems and producing oil from waste based on the principles of circular economy in the future. Eesti Energia CEO Hando Sutter said at a presentation [...]
Electricity Transmission System Operators in Latvia and Estonia, AS Augstsprieguma tikls (AST) and Elering AS, have signed a cooperation agreement to investigate possible ways to evacuate power from planned offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and connect them to onshore transmission systems in both countries. Operators informed that preliminary analysis of the route [...]
Estonia has ambitious plans to develop offshore wind energy. On the other side of the Baltic Sea is Denmark, which today is one of the leaders in the development of the offshore wind sector. In April 2021, the wind giant Ørsted and company Enefit, one of the largest energy companies in the Baltic countries, [...]