Metsähallitus, Finland's administrator of state-owned land and water areas, has submitted planning initiatives for five new offshore wind farms to the six coastal municipalities of Ostrobothnia. The total capacity of the projects under development is approximately 6 GW. The development of the projects planned for the state's marine areas will progress when the municipalities have approved the zoning initiatives.

"The totality of five offshore wind farms shows that Finland is fully committed to increasing the capacity of renewable energy. This, in turn, enables large-scale investments in the green transition", says Juha S. Niemelä, CEO of Metsähallitus.

The offshore wind power program supports, for example, Finland's goal of becoming a leading player in the hydrogen economy in Europe.

"The bidding process for the first offshore wind farm at the end of last year also showed that Finland is of interest to both domestic and international companies as a stable investment environment," continues Juha S. Niemelä.

Zoning initiatives were submitted to the municipalities of Siikajoki, Hailuoto and Pyhäjoki, as well as the city of Raahe (areas 1, 2 and 3 on the map), as well as the city of Närpiö (area 6) and Kristiinakaupungi (area 7).

All five planned sites have been preliminarily identified as areas suitable for wind power production in marine area planning and preliminary studies. The areas are also suitable for offshore wind power construction in terms of e.g. water depth, geological structure of the seabed and electricity transmission options, as well as winter navigation. The permission of the Defense Forces has also been obtained for the use of the areas.

Kristiinankaupunki and Närpiö have announced that they will take the planning initiatives into consideration after the draft of Ostrobothnia's provincial plan has been published. The energy and climate phase provincial plan of Northern Ostrobothnia, covering the areas of the other municipalities in question, has already been announced.

When?

After the zoning initiatives have been approved by the municipalities, Metsähallitus will open the selection process for two offshore wind farm project partners in September-October this year and the next two projects next year. This simultaneous development of several projects is limited by e.g. the extensive research capacity needed for the job, which is limited in Finland. The launch of the fifth project will therefore be decided later.

In addition to the five planned projects, Metsähallitus has identified two other areas suitable for wind power production in the territorial waters of the west coast (items 4 and 5 on the map). Their further development will be decided later.

All five projects in the planning stage, if realized, would increase Finland's emission-free electricity production capacity by approximately 6,000 megawatts (MW) in the 2030s. The amount corresponds to almost four Olkiluoto 3 power plant units.

In Finland, municipalities have the exclusive right to decide on the zoning and construction of offshore wind power projects located in their areas. This also applies to state-owned areas. The local municipality also receives property tax revenues from the offshore wind farms located in its area. Metsähallitus, on the other hand, is responsible for the development of state areas and the preliminary study of projects inside the regional water boundary.