Ørsted, Enefit to form Baltic offshore wind JV

Danish energy company Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) will team up with a unit of Estonian state-owned sector player Eesti Energia AS, aiming to jointly develop offshore wind projects in the Baltic countries.

Ørsted and Eesti Energia’s renewable energy arm Enefit Green have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a joint venture (JV) and work on a range of opportunities, among which is an up to 2-GW wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. The so-called Liivi project, with an expected power generation capacity ranging from 1 GW to 2 GW, will be realised by 2030, the duo said on Monday.

The Liivi complex will be the first offshore wind park in the Gulf of Riga. Initially proposed by Enefit Green, it was approved by the Latvian and Estonian governments last year.

Ørsted also said it has lodged an application to develop an area in Latvian waters that is adjacent to the Liivi site. While specific details were not available, the company said the offshore wind farm will also feed power into the Latvian and Estonian power grids.

“The Baltic Sea area is becoming a centre for offshore wind build-out which will contribute significantly to the decarbonisation efforts of both the region and the European economy,” said Rasmus Errboe, head of region Continental Europe at Ørsted.

The offshore wind potential in the Baltic Sea is estimated at over 90 GW.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!