The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers has approved the 200-square-kilometre research site for ELWIND, an Estonian-Latvian cross-border offshore wind project.
In response to recommendations from the Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia, the originally selected study area has been moved more than seven kilometres further offshore to reduce biodiversity risks and to avoid overlapping with an area that could be designated as a marine protected area in the future.
Recently, the bat survey started at the ELWIND offshore wind area in Estonian waters as part of the environmental impact assessment. The survey is being carried out in partnership with 3Bird Systems.
The ELWIND project aims to develop offshore wind sites in Latvian and Estonian territories and establish the fourth electricity interconnection between the two countries.
In 2022, the two governments pinpointed the locations in their respective parts of the Baltic Sea where the joint project will be built.
The project’s website states that Estonia and Latvia consume approximately 16 TWh of electricity annually, and ELWIND is expected to supply around one-fifth of this demand, or 3 TWh per year.