The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has approved a EUR 18.7 million co-funding for ELWIND, a 1 GW Latvia-Estonia cross-border offshore wind project.
The co-funding is said to enable research to determine the environmental impact of the Latvian-Estonian ELWIND offshore wind farm sites and to plan the transmission network cross-border connections and connections between the wind farm and the onshore transmission lines.
The developer’s next step is to analyse the impact of the wind farm on bird migration routes, fish spawning grounds and mammals, as well as shipping routes, according to the press release.
Technical studies will also be conducted to analyse the bed characteristics, water depth, wind, and wave measurements and to design the optimal location of the wind farm and electricity transmission infrastructure, said the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA).
The research is scheduled to start this year and will last until 2026.
A public consultation is planned for August this year and, prior to that, information seminars are also scheduled to be organised in Jūrkalne and Pāvilosta to involve local residents and provide more information about the ELWIND offshore wind project.
The funding for the research needed to develop the project has been granted under the European Union funding programme Connecting Europe Facility.
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The tender for the rights to develop the ELWIND offshore wind project is scheduled to be held in 2026. The project is expected to enter the construction phase in 2028 and be commissioned by 2030 at the earliest.
The governments of Latvia and Estonia already selected the locations in their respective parts of the Baltic Sea where their joint project will be built.
The construction of the wind park in both areas of Latvia and Estonia will provide an electricity capacity of at least 1,000 MW, which could boost the energy independence of Latvia and the Baltic region.
Laura Štrovalde, Deputy Director for Investment and Energy at LIAA said that the development of such projects will stabilise electricity prices in the region to around EUR 40 per MWh, which will provide additional advantages in attracting new investment.