Superficies licence proceedings initiated for offshore wind farms

On 19 December 2019, by order No. 311, the Government of the Republic initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Eesti Energia AS (currently Liivi Offshore OÜ) for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. The purpose of the proposed activity is the production of renewable energy in an offshore wind farm. Liivi Offshore OÜ intends to build an offshore wind farm with a capacity of up to 1000 MW in the Gulf of Riga, where 50–160 wind turbines, depending on the capacity of the selected wind turbine types, will be erected. The rated power of the planned wind turbines is between 6–20 MW, and the top height of the wind turbine is 200–300 m, the useful life of the wind turbines is estimated to be 30 years. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 183.19 km².  Additional information is also available on the developer’s project website at https://liivimeretuulepark.ee/en/avaleht.

On 19 December 2019, by order No. 312, the Government of the Republic initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Five Wind Energy OÜ for the establishment of a wind power plant with one turbine and an artificial island on the southern coast of Saaremaa, near Nasva port, approximately 200 m from the shore. The superficies licence is request for the Siemens SWT 4.0-120 wind turbine, height of the wind turbine tower above ground is 90 m, diameter of the rotor 120 m and power 4 MW. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 0.002 km².

On 19 December 2019, by order No. 313, the Government of the Republic initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Tuuletraal OÜ for encumbering the Gulf of Riga with a multipurpose aquaculture infrastructure with artificial islands equipped with independent renewable energy supply. The planned infrastructure comprises 76 wind turbines with a total capacity of 380 MW, a substation located at sea and electricity cables connected to it, an electricity transmission system up to the connection point located on land, and 31 mussel farming areas. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 91.15 km².

On 28 May 2020, by order No. 183, the Government of the Republic initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Saare Wind OÜ for the establishment of an offshore wind farm on the western coast of Saaremaa. On 22 February 2024, by order No. 50, the Government amended the order No. 183 of initiating the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment of 28 May 2020 and expanded the area to be encumbered in the public water body for the establishment of the Saare Wind Energy OÜ offshore wind farm. The purpose of establishing an offshore wind farm is the production of electricity from renewable energy sources in an environmentally friendly way and channelling it into the general electricity system. The proposed activity is the establishment of an offshore wind farm with up to 100 wind turbines with a capacity of up to 1400 MW in the territorial sea in the area of the western coast of Saaremaa and the construction of a transmission system up to the connection thereof with the general electricity system. The diameter of the wind turbine rotor is expected to be 250–280 m, which means that the maximum height of the wind turbine is up to 310 meters. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 197.5 km².  Additional information is also available on the developer’s project website at https://www.swe.ee/en/.

On 23 December 2021, by decision No. 1-7/21-521, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by OÜ Utilitas Wind for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. On 9 March 2023, by decision No. 1-7/23-063, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority amended the decision No. 1-7/21-521 of initiating the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment of 23 December 2021 and shifted the area to be encumbered in the public water body for the establishment of the Saare-Liivi offshore wind farm in the superficies licence proceedings initiated by the decision. According to the application, an offshore wind farm comprising up to 299 wind turbines is planned to be established. The distance between wind turbines is planned to be approximately 1 km. Purpose of use of the construction work is the production of electricity and/or hydrogen through offshore wind power plant facilities. The planned height of the wind turbines would be up to 400 m, whereas the height of the electric wind turbine tower would be at least 250 m and the rotor diameter at least 300 m. An electric wind turbine of this size has a rated power of up to 20 MW. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 301.01 km². Additional information is also available on the developer’s project website at https://saareliivituulepark.ee/en/.

On 6 March 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-074, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by UAB „Ignitis renewables projektai 6” for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area of Liivi 2. According to the application, it is planned to erect up to 88 electric wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 1400 MW and up to three substations. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 400 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 114.9 km².

On 28 March 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-102, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of the application for the Estonian-Latvian joint offshore wind farm project (ELWIND) submitted by the Environmental Investment Centre (EIC). The aim of the ELWIND project is the pre-development of the sea area specified in the application, which means that after the superficies licence is issued, the state organises an auction or selective tender, where all developers have the opportunity to acquire a superficies licence for the ELWIND area and erect the planned offshore wind farm. The project is owned by the Ministry of Climate and managed by the EIC. According to the application, 20–100 electric wind turbines with a maximum height of 330 m above sea level could be built in the ELWIND area. The planned maximum individual capacity of one wind turbine is 10–25 MW, and the total capacity of the planned offshore wind farm is 400–1000 MW. The size of the encumbered sea area is approx. 200.44 km². Additional information is also available on the project website at https://elwindoffshore.eu/.

On 9 April 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-114, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by UAB „Ignitis renewables projektai 6” for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area of Liivi 1. According to the application, it is planned to erect up to 57 electric wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 900 MW and up to two substations. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 400 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 77.7 km².

On 6 September 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-307, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of applications submitted by Liivi Offshore OÜ for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area 1 and area 2. A decision has been made to merge the superficies licence proceedings for areas 1 and 2 into a single procedure. In total, up to 140 wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 2010 MW are planned for the two sites. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 300 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 168.08 km².

On 18 September 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-321, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Norwegian company Deep Wind Offshore AS (currently Tuul Energy OÜ) for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area of Saare 2.1. According to the application, it is planned to erect up to 104 electric wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 1560 MW and up to four substations. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 365 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 163.8 km².

On 24 September 2024, by decision No. 1-7/24-329, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by Norwegian company Deep Wind Offshore AS (currently Tuul Energy OÜ)  for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area of Saare 2.2. According to the application, it is planned to erect up to 56 electric wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 840 MW and up to two substations. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 365 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is approx. 88.5 km².

On 17 June 2025, by decision No. 1-7/25-205, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority initiated the superficies licence proceedings and environmental impact assessment on the basis of an application submitted by French company Oxan Energy for the establishment of an offshore wind farm in the area of Saare 1. According to the application for superficies licence submitted by Oxan Energy, up to 60 wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 900 MW and up to three offshore substations are planned for the Saare 1 sea area. The maximum height of the wind turbines will be up to 365 metres above average sea level. The size of the encumbered area is 88 km².