Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has granted EUR 30 million to Suomen Hyötytuuli, the owner and operator of the country’s only offshore wind farm, to support the development of the Tahkoluoto demonstration project off Pori.
The funding will go towards the installation of two 15 MW turbines in proximity to the 44.3 MW Tahkoluoto offshore wind farm which has been in operation since 2017.
The aim of the project is to demonstrate a foundation concept suitable for deeper waters, as well as underwater construction methods suitable for conditions offshore Finland.
The estimated power of the demonstration project is about 30 MW and the annual production is expected to about 109 gigawatt-hours.
The Tahkoluoto area is described as a natural choice for the demonstration project, as there is a huge amount of information about the area and the project can utilize the studies and the partial master plan of the 600 MW Tahkoluoto offshore wind farm expansion project which Suomen Hyötytuuli is currently developing.
The demonstration project will be located in the planning area, and the project will be implemented in the years 2023–2026, meaning before the expected construction of the Tahkoluoto wind farm extension.
Tahkoluoto is Finland’s first offshore wind farm and at the same time the world’s first offshore wind farm built for freezing sea conditions.
The expansion project will comprise a total of forty power plants of over 15 MW, and the project’s estimated completion date is 2027. The annual production of the expansion is estimated to reach 2,000 gigawatt-hours.