The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) announced an auction for the development of an offshore wind farm in the Saare 1 area west of Saaremaa. The auction will take place between 21 January 2025 at 12:00 and 23 January 2025 at 12:00, Estonian time (UTC+2).

Three companies who submitted a competing application for a superficies licence qualified to participate in the auction for Saare 1 sea area: CI Estonia Wind GmbH & Co. KG, OÜ Utilitas Wind and Oxan Energy.

The area of Saare 1 sea area is 88.0 km² and is located approximately 60 km to the west of the island of Saaremaa, in an innovation area suitable for the development of wind energy set by the Estonian maritime spatial plan.

The auction will take place electronically in the online environment for state land auctions at www.riigimaaoksjon.ee. The starting price for Saare 1 area is €1,320,000 and the minimum bid increment is €50,000. The auction have an extended end, with the period of extended end being 15 minutes.

Participants qualified for the auction must submit an application to the CPTRA and pay a deposit of €26,400. Based on the applications for superficies licence of the companies qualified for the auction, the capacity of the planned offshore wind farm is in the range of 900–1200 MW.

The winner of the auction is the undertaking who made the highest bid and paid that amount, and the procedure for a superficies licence and environmental impact assessment will commence no later than within 90 days from the announcement of the winner of the auction. The developer who won the auction must then submit an environmental impact assessment programme to the CPTRA within 18 months and an environmental impact assessment report within 24 months after the decision to approve the environmental impact assessment programme as meeting the requirements.

Description of the Saare 1 area can be found on the website of the CPTRA .

Notice of auction for Saare 1 sea area

Excerpt of the Saare 1 sea area from the map application for the Land Board’s public waters building permits opens in a new tab .

The CPTRA is responsible for processing applications for superficies licences and issuing building and operating permits for offshore wind farms. At present, the CPTRA has announced the winners of four auctions for the sea area and has initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment for offshore wind farms 11 times, also one environmental impact assessment report has been approved. The CPTRA is committed to ensuring that offshore wind farms are built in an environmentally friendly manner and in compliance with all construction regulations.

Source: CPTRA