Estonia initiates designated spatial plan for connections of Gulf of Riga offshore farm

• Published date: 04 August 2022
• Publication title: LETA

TALLINN, Aug 4 (LETA--BNS) The Estonian government on Thursday initiated a national designated spatial plan for the power grid connections of the Gulf of Riga offshore wind farm and decided on commissioning a strategic environmental impact assessment.

The spatial plan envisages connections from the Gulf of Riga offshore wind farm to the onshore grid in one or more locations. The area covered by the plan is more than 5,400 square kilometers, information made available by the government's communication office says.

The location of the offshore wind farm has been previously set forth in the Parnu sea area spatial plan. The wind farm is planned to have a capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts and consist of 50-100 wind turbines depending on the height of the turbines and other technical parameters.

In the Estonian maritime area, the spatial plan will cover the Gulf of Riga and Parnu Bay and, of onshore areas, the Haademeeste, Tori, Kihnu and Saarde municipalities in Parnu County, as well as the city of Parnu. The expected time for preparing the spatial plan is six years and the planning process is public -- anyone can participate and submit proposals if they wish.

"One of the government's biggest tasks and priorities is to help solve today's energy crisis," Minister of Public Administration Riina Solman said in a press release, stressing that the coalition agreement stipulates that by 2030, Estonia will produce as much renewable energy as it consumes.

ccording to the minister, the price of electricity for consumers today depends on the price level of the Nord Pool market area, so each addition to renewable energy generating capacity will be...