Green-focused Europe to drive offshore wind growth on the Baltics

(ADPnews) - May 31, 2011 - Almost 3,000 MW of offshore wind energy capacity were brought on stream in Europe, particularly in the North Sea, in the last decade, while the Baltic offshore wind power sites have just begun taking shape.

By Ausra T. Antonov

The Baltic Sea, surrounded by 8 EU member states, has been so far timidly used in the terms of wind power. However, the zone has recently drawn attention following the launch of the 48.3 MW Baltic 1 wind power project in the German territorial waters off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The 21-turbines facility was developed by German utility Energie Baden-Wurttemberg (EnBW) and is currently feeding electricity to the country's national grid. The success of Germany's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm will be repeated with the Baltic 2 offshore project, scheduled for opening in 2013. According to EnBW, it is expected to be six times bigger than Baltic 1.

Germany leads

The German territory of the Baltic Sea will also become home to another -- 400 MW project to be rolled out by Iberdrola Renovables, a unit of Spanish utility Iberdrola (MCE:IBE). In March 2011, the latter acquired the rights to develop the Ventotec Ost 2 offshore wind complex, which is planned for commissioning by 2014.

Offshore wind farms are taking off in Germany, in line with the government's target of installing at least 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020 and a total of 25 GW by 2030. The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has said that a further 23 wind farms, with a total generating capacity of 7,650 MW, had been approved in the North Sea and three more in the Baltic with a capacity of 1,040 MW. In addition, the agency revealed that it had received 15 more applications for projects in the Baltic.

According to one of the major sector players -- multi-utility E.on AG (ETR:EOAN), the projects in the Baltic Sea will certainly support the ambitious growth targets of the German government for offshore wind. However, the company's communications manager Katharina Selinger told ADPnews in an e-mail interview that "the major part of the country's offshore projects are situated in the North Sea due to the huge quantity of suitable areas there meeting the high environmental requirements applied by German law." Nevertheless, Selinger noted, the Baltic Sea offers huge wind harvest potential and favourable geological conditions and it can for sure contribute to Europe’s renewables targets. "For the next decades it will drive many of the Baltic countries to reconsider their respective support regimes short time and improve them subsequently thus making wind offshore in the Baltic Sea an attractive investment opportunity for potential investors", Selinger said.

Denmark chases offshore wind target

E.on is already harnessing the Baltic offshore winds at the 207 MW Rosand II wind park, inaugurated in October 2010. The project, comprising 90 Siemens turbines, is generating enough electricity for about 200,000 Danish homes.

In February 2011, the Danish environment minister Lykke Friis revealed that the government has given the final go-ahead to the planned 600 MW offshore wind farm at Kriegers Flak off the island of Mon. The project, touted as one of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world, will have 200 wind turbines supplying electricity to more than 500,000 households. The wind farm is scheduled for completion in 2017.

Poland expects first offshore project by 2019

Situated on the southern end of the Baltic Sea, Poland has no operating offshore wind farm yet. According to an optimistic scenario, commissioned by Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA), the first offshore wind sites will start contributing to the cumulative green goal as of 2018 with the first 500 MW coming on stream and further 500 MW to be added for both 2019 and 2020.

Local wind power developer PGE Energia Odnawialnia has recently unveiled a corporate strategy which assumes the development of 1,000 MW of installed wind power capacity onshore by end-2015 and another 1,500 MW offshore. The first PGE's wind site off the shore is anticipated to become operational in 2019, the company's spokesperson Michal Kucaj told ADPnews. He explained that "Investors, including PGE, are still awaiting an amendment to the Act on the Marine Areas of the Republic of Poland and Maritime Administration." According to Kucaj, challenges for the development of such sites include the lack of spatial planning of marine areas and lack of organisational experience in implementing the offshore projects in Poland.

PGE Energia Odnawialnia, which is a subsidiary of Polish utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna (WAR:PGE), also believes that Baltic offshore wind farms will support the EU's clean-energy economy and will contribute to the growth of Europe's offshore wind sector. However, the real operating potential of the Polish shore of the Baltic Sea cannot still be defined until full operating and environmental research is completed, Michal Kucaj said for ADPnews.

Baltic trio, Finland on their way to harnessing offshore winds

The potential of wind power along the coastal areas of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are similar to some of the sites in Germany and Denmark, but the resources have been untapped so far. The situation may change soon, as Estonian state-owned power company Eesti Energia has revealed plans to build its first offshore wind park in the Gulf of Riga with a potential capacity of 600 MW. The Gulf of Riga wind project would arise in stages, with the first 150 MW currently scheduled to be installed by 2015.

Another, 38-wind turbine park with combined capacity of 190 MW, is being planned by Neugrund on the Neugrund Reef off Estonia's northwestern coast. In addition, Tallinn-based Nelja Energia, or 4Energia, is working on the 700 MW Hiiumaa offshore wind park, which will comprise 200 wind turbines with a capacity of 3-5 MW each.

Latvia is also turning its look at offshore wind power. Local JK Energy Ltd has been planning a 900 MW offshore wind farm since 2009. According to local daily Dienas Bizness, the project, to be located to the north of the Port of Liepaja, would generate electricity neither to be sold on the Latvian market, nor in any other Baltic country. Instead it would be offered to countries in the Central and Western Europe.

A milestone has been reached in Finland's wind industry earlier this year when Finish authorities gave a nod for the Suurhiekka offshore wind farm. Proposed by WPD Finland, the project will be built in the shallows of Suurhiekka, in the Gulf of Bothnia. Construction of the 80-turbine facility could start in 2014, depending on a government decision on a financial support scheme.

Will Baltic Sea become offshore wind energy hub?

Although nearly all of Europe's offshore wind capacity has been so far based in the North Sea, some countries obviously start putting their eggs in the Baltic offshore wind basket. The situation seems to be improving further as two factors are driving the development of an offshore Baltic Sea grid -- the EU's 2020 renewable energy 20% target and the need for improving the security of Europe's electricity supply.

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