CIP, Ignitis to Build Both of Estonia’s Offshore Wind Farms, Plan to Combine Sites Into Single Project

January 17, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

After winning development rights for the Liivi 2 site, Ignitis Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have now also secured the second offshore wind area offered in Estonia’s first offshore wind tender, having placed the highest bid of EUR 1.16 million for the Liivi 1 site.

The partners won the tender for the adjacent Liivi 2 site on 13 December 2023 by placing a financial bid of EUR 1.7 million.

The tender for Liivi 1 took place from 11 January to 17 January 2024. Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) is expected to officially confirm the winner within three working days after the tender results are announced.

After securing the second site, CIP and Ignitis Erenewables said Liivi 1 was a natural extension of the sea area which will allow for greater synergy and optimisation in developing the sites as a single offshore wind project.

The Liivi 1 and Liivi 2 offshore wind sites are located in the Gulf of Riga, northwest of Ruhnu Island, and together span approximately 193 square kilometres.

The project, to be developed on the two sites combined, is expected to become operational post 2030, likely around 2035, subject to obtaining the relevant permits, contracting suppliers, and securing financing.

“While the theoretical potential capacity of both sites is calculated to be 2.3 GW, depending on environmental impact assessment results, site optimization as well as other factors, the actual capacity of the offshore wind park is expected to be 1–1.5 GW,” Ignitis Group, the parent company of Ignitis Renewables, said in a press release on 17 January.

CIP and Ignitis entered into a partnership in August 2023 to collaborate on offshore wind opportunities in Estonia and Latvia. According to the two companies, the Baltic states have significant offshore wind potential, with a total of 15.4 GW of estimated possible capacity across Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.