Danish renewable energy company European Energy and Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Eni’s Plenitude and HitecVision, have established a long-term strategic partnership to jointly pursue offshore wind opportunities in the Baltic Sea within Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
The three Baltic states have a total estimated offshore wind potential of around 15.4 GW and are opening several areas for development through upcoming tenders, with Lithuania launching two tenders for spring and autumn 2023, followed by Estonia with a pipeline of 7 GW to be tendered late 2023.
The companies said they will work jointly across the whole offshore wind lifecycle, from development and financing, through to construction and operation. European Energy is present in all three Baltic states with offices and a pipeline of onshore renewable energy projects, and the company has developed and constructed several wind farms in Lithuania.
“The Baltic Sea has huge capability to power Europe’s energy transition through offshore wind, delivering energy security and contributing to reach collective climate targets. With Vårgrønn’s initial projects having focused on the North Sea, we are very pleased to be partnering with European Energy to develop offshore wind across the Baltic states. European Energy’s strong track record in developing onshore renewables in this region, combined with their continued strong local presence, makes them an ideal partner for us,” said Olav Hetland, CEO of Vårgrønn.
“The Baltic states will undergo a rapid transformation in their energy supply in the coming years. In European Energy we want to support this transformation, and we believe that we can best do this by partnering up with Vårgrønn, who has extensive offshore expertise and strong financial capacity can build on their experience from offshore wind projects in the North Sea,” added Knud Erik Andersen, CEO in European Energy.
