TALLINN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia's wind energy company Enefit and Danish offshore wind developer Orsted on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that outlines a vision for the joint development of an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga.

Enefit and Orsted intend to establish a joint venture for the development of offshore wind projects in the Baltic countries, including the Liivi project in the Estonian part of the Gulf of Riga, by 2030, said Eesti Energia said in a press release.

In September 2020, the Latvian and Estonian governments signed an MoU for the joint wind farm. The partnership aims for a cross-border hybrid solution, which would connect the offshore wind farm to both Latvia and Estonia and enable the utilization of the transmission cables as an interconnector between the two countries, it noted.

"With the right regulatory framework in place, offshore wind can deliver large-scale green energy in Estonia and Latvia before 2030. The sheer size of offshore wind farms makes them ideal for cross-border hybrid solutions," Rasmus Errboe, head of region continental Europe at Orsted, was quoted in the release as saying. He noted that the Baltic Sea area is becoming a center for offshore wind projects that would contribute significantly to the regional and European decarbonization efforts.

"It is essential that offshore wind will be developed in an environmentally friendly way that involves local communities so that they can benefit from the wind farm," said Hando Sutter, chairman of Enefit's Management Board. "The construction of offshore wind farms, like the Liivi or Hiiumaa projects (in north-western Estonia), could create the conditions for the emergence of a new industry with professional competences and highly qualified long-term jobs in the fields of energy, transport and logistics. During the construction of an offshore wind farm of this size, hundreds of jobs will be created, including in Estonia and Latvia.".

The European Union's (EU) strategy on offshore renewable energy proposes to increase Europe's offshore wind generation capacity from the current 12 gigawatts (GW) to at least 60 GW by 2030 and to 300 GW by 2050. The Baltic Sea can make a significant contribution to this target with a potential above 90GW, the press release said.

In 2020, the EU's Baltic member states signed a joint declaration of intent on cooperation in the development of offshore wind capacities to help them reach the national and international climate targets. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)