The Estonian Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Latvia for the joint development of a cross-border offshore windfarm in the Gulf of Riga
Estonia Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said that to meet the country’s renewable energy target for 2030, investments must be made in renewable energy sources, and offshore wind energy “has a growing and increasingly important role to play.”
The Prime Minister said, “The offshore wind area developed jointly by Estonia and Latvia is a unique project that contributes to the achievement of both countries’ renewable energy goals and creates opportunities for other offshore wind developments.”
Estonia Minister of Economic Affairs & Infrastructure Taavi Aasa said it is important to build the windfarm with Latvia because it provides an opportunity to apply for support from the European Union for a cross-border project. “This, in turn, makes it cheaper to build other windfarms in the area, as other projects in the same area would also benefit from the grid infrastructure to be built for the first,” he said.
The two countries will jointly carry out studies to determine the best location for the construction of the windfarm, taking into account wind conditions, existing projects, the environment and other factors.
Once the necessary studies have been carried out and the permits have been obtained, an auction will be held for the offshore area with a permit to be awarded to the winner to build the windfarm.
“Open competition will ensure equal treatment of market participants, the lowest possible price and the efficient use of our marine resources,” said Mr Aasa. “At the same time, a large offshore windfarm will contribute to the region’s security of electricity supply and help attract foreign investors."
The size of the proposed offshore windfarm is up to 1.0 GW. It is expected to be completed by 2030. The windfarm will produce approximately 3.5 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, which is approximately 40% of Estonia’s annual electricity consumption.
Riviera held a series of webinars on offshore wind in June. These are available to view in our webinar library
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