Offshore wind power report

The report presents preliminary possibilities for connecting offshore wind power to the main grid of mainland Finland in the 2030s. The plans contain certain assumptions that differ from Fingrid’s baseline scenario in terms of electricity production and consumption trends. For this reason, Fingrid’s main grid development plan published in 2023, which foresees approximately EUR 4 billion of investment over the next ten years, does not include all the system reinforcement investments required to implement the plans. Fingrid will consider the results of this report, the stakeholder feedback received on the report, and the progress of offshore wind power project development when it updates its development plan.

The preliminary possibilities to connect offshore wind power presented in this report were technically specified from the main grid perspective, taking into consideration the offshore wind power projects that Fingrid is aware of, as well as other electricity production and consumption projects. The report does not present connection solutions for individual customer projects. Connection points and capacities are reserved for projects by concluding connection agreements once said after projects have obtained the necessary permits. In the 2030s, it may also be possible to implement more offshore wind power connections than indicated in this report and in areas other than those specified in the report if the growth in electricity consumption is greater than assumed in this report or new consumption facilities are located closer to offshore wind power connections.

Finland has significant potential as an offshore wind power producer. However, it is uncertain when offshore wind power will become financially viable in Finland. Finland also has enormous potential to increase the amount of onshore wind and solar power in addition to offshore wind power. The competition between onshore and offshore wind power will be decisive. The background scenario for this report assumes that wind power investments in Finland will be weighted towards offshore wind power from the end of the 2020s and the start of the 2030s onwards due to either financial viability or acceptability. This assumption differs from Fingrid’s baseline scenario, and in practice, the rate of onshore wind power construction remains lower than in Fingrid’s baseline scenario. If wind power construction becomes possible in Eastern Finland, onshore wind power could be assumed to have a stronger competitive position as new production areas and a different production profile become available.