Oxan Energy wins Estonia’s latest offshore wind round

French-based offshore wind developer Oxan Energy has been revealed as the winner of the first Estonian floating offshore wind tender.

The company and its partner SNOW, a financial advisor specialising in renewable power generation, will develop the Saare 1 project with a potential capacity of 900MW and up to 60 turbines.

The two companies will conduct the environmental and technical studies, starting with the environmental impact assessment.

The project will contribute to Estonia’s goal to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.

The Estonian authorities have tendered the zone of Saare 1, located 60 km off the coast of the largest Estonian island, Saaremaa, with a surface area of 88 km and a water depth of up to 85 m.

Given the water depth, the project has the potential to combine floating and bottom-fixed technologies. The layout of the wind farm will be decided after the impact assessment based on the environmental and technical studies. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2033.

Oxan was the only bidder in the auction with an offer of $1.36m, according to Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.

Three companies qualified to participate in the tender – the Luxcara-owned CI Estonia Wind GmbH & Co KG, Estonia’s OU Utilitas Wind, and Oxan.

This was the second time the Saare 1 area was auctioned out. The area relaunched the competition on January 21 after the initial competitive bidding process resulted in no bids.