Enefit Green and Japanese company Sumitomo Corporation have decided to end their cooperation in the development of the Liivi Bay offshore wind farm in Estonia. The decision was made after a thorough assessment of the market and regulatory situation, concluding that there is currently insufficient clarity regarding long-term support mechanisms, such as Contracts for Difference (CfDs), which are necessary to secure investments of several billion euros. Continue reading “Enefit Green and Sumitomo end partnership in Liivi Bay offshore wind project”
Commentary on Wind Power
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.
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Tender announced for preliminary design work for ELWIND offshore wind farm
The Latvian Investment and Development Agency has announced a tender for the development of a technical concept for the ELWIND offshore wind farm. The project preparation process will consist of two phases – Pre-FEED and FEED.
The Pre-FEED or preliminary study phase will focus on developing a general technical concept using publicly available information to update the project’s baseline scenario. This will include an assessment of the site conditions and possible electricity connection options, which will serve as a basis for further development. Continue reading “Tender announced for preliminary design work for ELWIND offshore wind farm”
EU prepares new strategy for ports and shipbuilding to support offshore wind targets
Europe plans to increase offshore wind capacity from 36.6 GW to 84 GW by 2030, but one of the biggest challenges is insufficient investment in shipbuilding and port infrastructure. Additional investment is needed to install at least 10 GW of new capacity each year – and 15 GW per year after 2030. Over the last three years, 6.7 billion EUR has been invested in ports and specialized ships, but another 6.4 billion EUR is needed. Continue reading “EU prepares new strategy for ports and shipbuilding to support offshore wind targets”
IEA: Rapidly growing demand for electricity is changing the global energy market
IEA: Rapidly growing demand for electricity is changing the global energy market
Global electricity consumption will grow at one of the fastest rates in the last decade by 2026, according to a new forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Demand is being driven by industry, data centers, electric vehicles and climate control systems, and will be met mainly by renewable resources, natural gas and nuclear energy. Continue reading “IEA: Rapidly growing demand for electricity is changing the global energy market”
Europe urgently needs to develop its electricity networks to achieve its renewable energy targets
European electricity demand will increase by 60% by 2030, but insufficient network development is hindering the integration of wind and other renewable resources. The European Commission’s new EU budget for 2028-2034 allocates 67 billion EUR from the European Competitiveness Fund and around 30 billion EUR from the Connecting Europe Facility for network modernization. The European Grids Package, expected in the fall, will include measures for faster permitting, smarter network planning, financing solutions, and wider use of flexibility technologies – storage, demand management, and hybrid projects.
Source: WindEurope, 30.07.2025.
Coastal wind and marine spatial planning
Popular science article published on coastal wind and marine spatial planning
As part of the project “Life-cycle of an offshore wind farm in the legal framework: the case of Latvia” a popular science article entitled “Offshore wind projects and maritime spatial planning: the voice of the public in the early stages” was published, providing the public with an easily understandable overview of the achievements on the platform pretvejs.lv, which is intended for a wide audience. Continue reading “Coastal wind and marine spatial planning”
Estonia suspends licensing process for Saare 7 offshore wind farm
The Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) has announced that the licensing process for the Saare 7 offshore wind farm in the Western Baltic Sea near Saaremaa Island has been suspended. The decision was made after an auction held on June 10-12, 2025, in which neither of the two bidders, Sunly Wind OÜ and Utilitas Wind OÜ, met the qualification requirements. Continue reading “Estonia suspends licensing process for Saare 7 offshore wind farm”
Lithuanian Seimas adopts legislative package promoting the development of renewable energy resources
On June 25, 2025, the Seimas adopted a package of five laws, making Lithuania one of the first EU countries to transpose the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) in order to accelerate the development of renewable energy, simplify regulations, and reduce the administrative burden. This RED III transposition package sets out clearer and more favorable development conditions for renewable energy projects, including offshore wind farms, their connections, and energy storage, and grants them special public interest status. The state will establish fast-track areas for renewable energy development (renewables acceleration areas) with mapping by February 21, 2026, and the permit granting process for offshore projects must not exceed 36 months. This will facilitate the coordination of grid connections and construction (the requirements of the Electricity and Construction Laws have been harmonized so that in many cases a technical proposal and working design are sufficient), allowing offshore wind projects to move forward more quickly and add energy storage to them.
Source: Energetikos ministerija (Republic of Lithunia), 25.06.2025.