Latvia’s Minister for Economics Janis Vitenbergs and Estonia’s Economy and Infrastructure Minister Taavi Aas have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the joint project of the offshore wind farm construction.
“The development of wind energy over the next decade is very important for the Baltic States,” said Minister Vitenbergs. “Good neighbours joining forces in major energy projects is the reasonable and cost-efficient thing to do,” added Minister Aas.
The project aims to create a high capacity (at least 700-1000 megawatts) offshore wind park by 2030, which is up to 20 % of the power consumption of the two countries. The project will also serve as a proof of concept for hybrid asset consisting of the dual-use transmission network and off-shore wind park.
The joint project makes it possible to attract investments in offshore wind farms to the region and makes connecting to the grid more affordable for others.
After the states have carried out the necessary studies like environmental impact assessment, they carry out an auction for the superficial license. Estonia and Latvia will split the costs and income of the project equally.
Estonia and Latvia share the vision that a cooperation in offshore wind is an excellent solution for moving towards higher RES level. “We believe that this project could be the first of many off-shore wind flagships under the BEMIP regional cooperation. The forthcoming European Commission’s Off-shore Renewable Energy Strategy should pave the way for such projects to materialize by facilitating sufficient financing” Aas and Vitenbergs said.
Source: CEE energy news, Evwind