Suurhiekka approved
International News - etea April 11, 2011
Sun & Wind Energy, 4/2011
WPD Finland, a subsidiary of the WPD Group in Bremen, has received water rights to build Finland’s first large-scale offshore wind farm with 80 turbines.
The Suurhiekka project will be built in shallows some 25 km off of the northern Finnish coast in the Gulf of Bothnia and will produce enough power annually for 300,000 homes. The approval, according to WPD, already includes an environmental impact study. Technical certification is all that is needed before construction can begin. The wind farm is slated to go on line in 2014.
The Finns will be hard pressed to reach their 20-20 target without offshore wind. Only on-shore wind farms are profitable under current feed in tariffs, however. Discussions are currently underway to increase the tariff (see SUN & WIND ENERGY 3/2011).