Estonia Invites Competing Applications for Saare 7 Offshore Wind Area as Developer Submits Proposal

Estonian developer Sunly Wind has applied for a superficies licence with Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) for an offshore wind farm in the Saare 7 area. The CPTRA has now initiated a procedure for the area under which it invites any competing applications to be submitted, in which case an auction would be launched for the site.

The Saare 7 site is located west of Saaremaa, in an area suitable for the development of wind energy set by the Estonian maritime spatial plan. 

Filed on 15 July 2021 and amended on 2 September 2024, Sunly Wind’s application is for a 552 MW project comprising 46 offshore wind turbines with 15 MW output and 264-metre rotor diameters that would rise to 165 metres above the water level.

The company applied for a superficies licence with a duration of 50 years. The final installed capacity, project design and exact location of the facilities depends on the results of the environmental impact assessment and technical analyses. 

The CPTRA issued the invitation for competing applications on 17 January, inviting all interested parties to submit applications to participate in an auction for the same area within 60 days from the day the notice was issued (until 18 March). All submitted applications must be drawn up in accordance with § 113³ and subsection 2 of § 113⁹ of the Building Code, the CPTRA notes.

The CPTRA will carry out a conformity assessment of the competing applications and, if more than one application meets all the requirements, organise an auction for the Saare 7 area.

Before building a wind farm, an environmental impact assessment must be carried out, during which the exact number of wind turbines, parameters and the total capacity of the wind farm will be determined, the CPTRA said in a press release on 17 January.

The notice comes a few months after the European Commission (EC) approved a EUR 2.6 billion scheme to support the development of renewable offshore wind energy in Estonia. The measure aims to support the construction and operation of offshore wind farms for electricity production in the areas determined by the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan, according to the EC.