Estonia has been a strong maritime country for centuries. Until now, the benefits of the large sea area have been mainly realized through the fishing industry and transport corridors. Invest in Estonia underlines how now the country is focusing on the next step forward: wind farms. Estonia has become a front-runner green power alongside established key players like the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

The country aims to be a place where new technological solutions for offshore wind farms are developed, tested, and manufactured. For this purpose, a unique laboratory on the sea will be created near Estonia’s largest island, Saaremaa. This offshore wind technologies innovation area can be used by companies from all around the world to test floating wind turbines, subsea stations and robots, service and maintenance drones, autonomous ships, and other experimental R&D solutions.

Recently, a would-be tender was announced that has already attracted interest from 30 companies planning to build offshore wind farms, and the government adopted a decision that by 2030, 100% of the electricity consumed in Estonia must come from renewable resources. To simplify the development process, the government is adopting an integrated planning permit for offshore wind farms. To meet all of the goals, this would simplify permit granting processes and shorten deadlines, whereas projects of societal importance should be completed within three years.

Offshore wind technologies are one of the critical focus areas in the development strategy “Estonia 2035”, which has been passed by the parliament and is updated by the government as the market conditions develop. To meet the newly set renewable electricity target for 2030, there are tenders for renewable energy generation, a wind farm levy helps to break any possible obstacles, the grid’s readiness is being improved and the government’s goal is for cross-border projects to be finished in three years.

Surveys have shown how local populations living in and around wind farms are positively turned towards them. In order to achieve the objective set by the government and accelerate the transition to renewable energy, the parliament adopted a so-called Wind Farm Fee Act or wind farm levy earlier this year. It sets forth financial compensation for locals and local governments that will also reduce any potential Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) concerns.

Offshore wind technology is one of the critical areas upon which Estonian research, innovation, and the business ecosystem will be focused for the next 13 years, based on the central strategy “TAIE 2035”.

• A natural marine testbed is being established on the north coast of Saaremaa to develop new offshore wind farm technology. An area of one hundred square kilometers can be used for any R&D-related projects for floating or foundation-based wind farms by many companies at once.
• In cooperation with the University of Tartu, Europe’s leading ultracapacitor energy storage company Skeleton Technologies has developed a wind turbine pitch control system based on their world-class ultracapacitors, which are already used in the real world.
• Now the same team is developing something called Stargate Hydrogen. Simply put, their industrial-scale hydrolysis is capable of taking the energy produced by wind farms and converting it to green hydrogen that can be transported all over the world.
• The Port of Tallinn is already in the process of building a new quay in the Paldiski South Harbour to service wind farms. The new 310-meter quay with a 10-hectare area will cost around 53 million euros. Preparations for the construction of the quay are on track for the quay and hinterland area to be completed in the summer of 2025. The quay will have a dual-purpose use as the main Seaport of Embarkation/Debarkation for the EU and NATO troops.
• The Port of Tallinn has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with three European wind farm builders to establish a construction and maintenance port for offshore wind farms of the neighboring region (North-West of Estonia) in the Paldiski South Harbour. The wind farms to be built in the area plan to start production in 2028, preceded by a 3-year construction period of the wind farms.
• Saare Wind Energy, founded in 2014, has been planning a major wind farm with 100 turbines with a capacity of up to 1,400 MW on the western coast of the country’s large western island of Saaremaa, with an estimated cost of several billion euros. In October 2020, the world’s leading marine and offshore services contractor company Van Oord acquired a 30% stake in Saare Wind Energy, which will help expedite the development of the project.
• Additionally, to connect to the Estonian electricity grid, the Dutch company sees the project as an additional opportunity to interconnect across the Baltic Sea with Sweden and Latvia. By the end of this year, the Environmental Impact Assessments are seen being finished and construction starting by 2026, but recent government decisions could speed the process substantially.
• Utilitas Wind is developing a grand plan for a farm consisting of a maximum of 160 windmills in the Gulf of Riga. Utilitas is focusing on the installation of wind turbines. On a larger scale, the company sees substantial potential to add storage devices to the energy system and is actively evaluating opportunities for development in this segment.
• Utilitas is part of the Stargate Hydrogen project through company ownership. To facilitate the production of green hydrogen by offshore wind farms, Utilitas Group is already planning to build a green hydrogen production unit and supply infrastructure, which will be implemented by the end of 2024.

Every offshore wind farm needs routine maintenance that will be serviced by a local harbor also known as an operational maintenance base. Roomassaare harbor has been Saare Wind Energy’s partner in this capacity. The port is already hosting and servicing research and other preparation vessels for offshore wind farms. As they are the closest port with infrastructures such as shipbuilders, repairs, airports, hospitals, hotels, and restaurants, they are currently expanding their quay sizes and industrial areas to further grow theircapacity to support future wind farms. And they are open to negotiating a variety of support functions for wind farms in the region.