Fingrid sees possibilities to link offshore wind power to main grid

The Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator, Fingrid has preliminary identified five areas along the west coast where large offshore wind parks could be connected to the mainland Finland’s transmission grid by the 2030s, said an official press release on Monday.

The identified areas are Ulvila, Närpiö, Vaasa, Raahe, and Raisio.

Additionally, the Inkoo area has been identified as a potential connection area if offshore wind power development becomes feasible in Finland’s southern sea areas.

Several gigawatt-scale offshore wind projects are planned for Finland’s sea areas.

Fingrid has received inquiries regarding connections for up to 95 gigawatts of offshore wind power.

In the autumn of 2023, Fingrid initiated a study on offshore wind power connection possibilities to its grid in the 2030s.

The study differs from Fingrid’s baseline scenario with the assumption that investments in wind power will focus on the offshore at the transition from the 2020s to the 2030s due to factors such as economic viability and acceptability.

It is anticipated that Finland’s electricity consumption will about double from current levels by 2035, especially driven by industrial growth. The total installed capacity of offshore wind power is expected to reach 6.5 GW by the end of the 2030s, corresponding to slightly over 30 TWh of annual production.

To implement these gigawatt-scale offshore wind power connections, additional investments of approximately EUR 0.6 billion are needed beyond the EUR 4 billion investment programme described in Fingrid’s main grid development plan in 2023.

These necessary investments would be located in Central Ostrobothnia, Southwest Finland, and Uusimaa, covering approximately 1000 km of new and reinforced 400 kV power lines.

If offshore wind power development also becomes viable in Finland’s southern sea areas, connecting it to the grid would reduce the need for grid reinforcements instead of causing them.

Feedback on the study will be received through a consultation until June 23. More precise connection points will be defined based on stakeholder feedback and Fingrid’s internal detailed studies in the autumn of 2024.