Energy, Estonia, Good for Business, Investments, Latvia

Prime Minister Juri Ratas said that in order to meet the renewable energy target set for 2030, investments have to be made in various renewable energy sources and that offshore wind energy plays an increasing and ever more important role in this.

"The offshore wind farm to be jointly developed by Estonia and Latvia is a unique project that will contribute to the achieving of the renewable energy goals by the countries and create new opportunities also for other offshore farm developments," Ratas said in a press release.

Aas meanwhile said that the joint establishment of the wind farm enables to seek support for a cross-border project from the European Union.

"That, in its turn, will make the establishment of other wind farms in the region cheaper, as other projects in the same region would also benefit from the network infrastructure to be established for the farm," Aas said.

The two countries are about to conduct together studies to find out about the best location for the wind farm in the sea between Estonia and Latvia, taking into consideration wind conditions, spatial plans, existing projects, environmental protection and all other factors. When the necessary studies have been carried out and permits issued, an auction will be held for the sea area with superficies rights and the wind farm will be established by the winning bidder. 

"A public competition will ensure the equal treatment of participants, as low as possible a price of renewable energy for consumers, and effective use of our marine resource," Aas said. "At the same time, a large offshore wind farm will contribute to the security of supply of electricity and help attract foreign investors," the minister added.

The offshore wind farm would have a capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts and it is expected to be completed in 2030. The wind farm would produce about 3.5 terawatt-hours of electricity a year, which equals approximately 40 percent of Estonia's annual consumption.