Incomplete transposition of RED III may hinder investments and regional auctions until 2026
RED III stipulates that by 2030, all Member States must implement at least two cross-border renewable energy projects, in accordance with Article 9. Latvia and Estonia already formally meet this requirement with the ELWIND joint project, but actual progress is hampered by significant structural shortcomings.
By mid-2025, Latvia has not yet officially granted the status of an renewables acceleration area to the ELWIND study area, and no functioning single contact point has been established, which is an essential prerequisite for the accelerated procedure under Article 16 of RED III. Estonia is already moving in this direction by using its “building rights license” (superficies licence) system, but cross-border synchronization is still incomplete.
The European Commission’s 2024 and 2025 guidelines emphasize that a country’s inability to ensure a fully functioning permit system may jeopardize investment attraction and reduce the possibility of qualifying for EU funding, including Connecting Europe Facility or Modernization Fund resources. With the first ELWIND auction in Latvia scheduled for 2026, the time frame is becoming critically narrow.
This situation highlights not only the administrative challenges, but also the importance of legally clear and digitally accessible instruments to make offshore wind investments in the region possible in the first place.