Energy, Estonia, Latvia

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 15:57

Eesti Energia planning to establish gigantic a wind park in the Gulf of Riga

Juhan Tere, BC, Tallinn, 18.08.2010.Print version
Eesti Energia is planning to carry out extensive studies in the vicinity of islands of Kihnu and Ruhnu in order to establish wind generators in the sea, writes LETA/Eesti Päevaleht.

After having processed the application for months, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications sent to the Government Eesti Energia’s request to reserve five large areas in the Gulf of Finland where it could carry out analyses for establishing more than 300 wind energy generators.

 

If the request will be approved by the Government, the enterprise would be granted exclusive building rights in five areas in the Gulf of Riga for 50 years, a total of nearly 110 square kilometres.

 

Minister of economic affairs and communications Juhan Parts emphasised, that if the request were approved, the Government would not grant Eesti Energia a permission to start establishing wind parks. “This decision will give the enterprise an opportunity to launch studies, reserving an area that it has requested. After that all kinds of studies – those concerning wind, profitability or environmental impact – have to be carried out,” he explained. Parts added that it is not at all impossible that after the studies the company might decide not to set up any wind generators or have fewer than 300 of them.

 

If the plans were, however, carried out in the maximum extent, it would be a unique plan for Estonia – the 308 sea windmills would have the total capacity of approximately 1,500 MW – nearly as much as the total electricity production volume during the so-called peak season, the coldest weeks and months of winter.

 

At the same time, the transmission grid enterprise Elering published its annual report on the supply stability of the Estonian electricity system that rather directly pointed out that the wind energy production plans concerning the nearest future are already clearly exaggerated. This form of energy is quite unstable and according to Elering, Estonia would be wise to have a total of 600 MW wind electricity capacity. By now, concluded contracts with wind parks cover 745 MW of capacity.






Search site