The view from the port of Kärdla to the offshore wind farm in northwestern Estonia according to the view. Photo: Enefit Green
The Ministry of Climate has approved the environmental impact assessment report of the offshore wind farm in Northwest Estonia developed by Enefit Green, on the basis of which the development of the offshore wind farm can be continued.
Estonia has set itself the goal of producing 100% of the electricity covering all Estonian needs from renewable energy by 2030 and of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In addition to onshore wind and solar farms, to achieve these objectives offshore wind energy is also needed.
“One of the biggest advantages of the offshore wind farm is that there is a more constant and stronger wind at sea even when there is no wind or sun on land to produce renewable energy. Producing more renewable energy will also boost the our economy, giving energy-intensive companies that are considering investing in Estonia one more reason to come here,” explained Karmo Kõrvek, head of offshore wind development at Enefit Green, on the need for an offshore wind farm.
The local community of Hiiumaa also benefits from the offshore wind farm, Enefit Green has announced. All local governments located up to 20 km from the park will receive 1-1.4 million euros in their budget to revitalize local life at current average electricity prices. However, the construction of the park will provide hundreds of new jobs for its founders, and subsequently dozens of permanent jobs for park custodians and managers, as well as indirect jobs.
“The assessment of the environmental effects of the North-West Estonian Sea Wind Farm began as early as 2006. During this period, numerous studies were conducted to clarify possible environmental impacts related to the construction of the park and mitigation measures. For example, during the period of feeding and spawning of seals and fish, no construction work shall be carried out,” said Kõrvek, which is important to know from the promoter’s studies.
The environmental impact assessment was carried out by Skepast and Puhkim OÜ. According to Hendrik Puhkim, the EIA’s top expert, the main conclusion is that the offshore wind farm has no significant negative effects on the natural and human environment. At the same time, it is not possible to design a wind farm in such a way that the negative effects associated with it are non-existent.
“Here it was necessary to find a compromise between the different sectors and interested parties, so that a result could be achieved. I believe it worked. The EIA provided for a whole series of conditions for reducing and mitigating the environmental impact that must be followed both during the construction of the wind farm and during the operation phase. More than 20 professionals from Estonia and abroad were involved in the EIA expert group,” explained Puhkim.
The offshore wind farm in northwestern Estonia will have a capacity of 1 gigawatt and can accommodate up to 60 wind turbines. The park’s annual electricity production is approximately 4 terawatt hours. At the earliest, the offshore wind farm could begin operating in the 2030s.
Enefit Green is currently building six wind farms in Finland, Estonia and Lithuania with a total capacity of 615 megawatts and four solar plants in Estonia, Latvia and Poland with a total capacity of 100 megawatts.
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2024-01-02 12:52:25
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