Eolus, PNE to Jointly Develop 1 GW Wind Farm Offshore Latvia

January 19, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Sweden-headquartered Eolus and PNE Group have created a joint venture for developing the Kurzéme offshore wind project in Latvia.

Located in the Baltic Sea outside the west coast of Latvia, the wind farm will have the potential to generate 4.5 TWh of renewable electricity per year.

The partners said that the wind farm will have approximately 1,000 MW of installed capacity with the planned commercial operation to start before 2030.

Eolus has conducted initial studies and developed the project since 2020 and is now adding resources and competencies to the project through cooperation with the German wind developer PNE.

As of 18 January, PNE has acquired 50 per cent of the shares in the project company SIA Kurzéme Offshore, which is now owned 50/50 by Eolus and PNE.

Application for the project has been submitted and surveys for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be conducted once the research license is obtained. The area is subject to an upcoming tender process.

“The acquisition of the 50 percent stake in SIA Kurzéme Offshore is a further step in our strategic development in becoming a Clean Energy Solutions Provider. This expands our “pipeline” of offshore wind projects to the Baltics. We see further attractive prospects for our activities in this area and look forward to working with our new partner”, said Markus Lesser, Chairman of the Board of Management of PNE AG.

According to the National Energy and Climate Plan, Latvia aims to increase its current wind capacity from approximately 70 MW to 800 MW by 2030.

In addition, the country plans to open the ELWIND tender, a 1 GW cross-border offshore project in collaboration with Estonia.

In September 2022, RWE joined forces with one of the largest power suppliers in the Baltic States, Latvenergo, to develop, construct, and operate offshore wind projects off the Latvian coast.