German developer PNE and Nordic peer Eolus plan to jointly develop a 1GW offshore wind farm off the western Baltic Sea coast of Latvia.
Eolus has already carried out initial studies for the Kurzeme project since 2020, which the companies said would have a potential to generate 4.5TWh of renewable power per year. The two companies each own half of the project company for Kurzeme since last week.
"We see great potential in the Baltic countries, where we are now scaling up our business,” Eolus chief executive Per Witalisson said.
“PNE is an experienced and competent offshore wind developer, and we look forward to cooperating with them in the Kurzeme project.
Countries surrounding the Baltic Sea are currently racing to speed up their offshore wind plans in order to wean themselves off Russian energy imports, with the largest capacities planned off Poland and Sweden.
An application for the Kurzeme project has been submitted and an environmental impact assessment will be carried out once a research license is obtained. The area is subject to an upcoming tender process in Latvia, the companies said.
Other companies, such as Danish offshore wind champion Orsted, have already announced wind project off Latvia, but so far in the Bay of Riga and not the open Baltic Sea west of the country.
"We are keen to bring in our long-term offshore wind experience and know-how to this partnership,” PNE chairman Markus Lesser said.
“This expands our pipeline of offshore wind projects to the Baltics.
“We see further attractive prospects for our activities in this area and look forward to working with our new partner."
