The Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) has revealed that it would be relaunching a tender for an offshore wind project in the country’s sector of the Baltic Sea.
The tender for the offshore wind project, which will have a capacity of up to 1.2GW, will be relaunched almost a year after the initial auction ended with no bids.
The area up for auction is the Saare 1, which covers 88 sq km and is located 60 km west of Saaremaa. The starting price for the area will be €1.32m ($1.39m) with the bidding set to close on January 23 next year.
CI Estonia Wind, Utilitas Wind, and Oxan Energy have already qualified to participate in the tender. Whoever wins the tender will be able to build an offshore wind farm with a capacity between 900MW and 1.2GW.
The auctions for the Saare 2.1 and Saare 2.2 areas were both won by Deep Wind Offshore. The company will be able to develop offshore wind projects in the areas with a combined capacity of 2.4GW. The Saare 3 area also received no bids in a tender in July 2024.
Estonia aims to reach 4.3 TWh of renewable power generation in 2030, of which 2.6 TWh is supposed to come from wind. The country is also looking to achieve its target of climate neutrality by 2050.
In related news, the European Commission has approved a €2.6bn scheme to support Estonia’s offshore wind energy. The measure will support the construction and operation of offshore wind farms for electricity production in the areas determined by the Estonian Maritime Spatial Plan.
The aid will take the form of a variable payment under two-way contracts for difference concluded for a period of 20 years.
The aid amount will be calculated by comparing a strike price, determined in the tender offer of the selected beneficiary, to the market price for electricity. When the strike price exceeds the reference market price, the difference is paid by the Estonian state to the beneficiary on top of the market price, with a maximum amount of aid granted capped at 65€/MWh.
Conversely, when the reference market price exceeds the strike price, the beneficiary will have to pay the difference to the Estonian authorities. There will be a limitation on the annual volume supported for a given year. This is set at a maximum of 2TWh per year.
The aid will be granted through a competitive bidding process and will be granted before December 31, 2025.
