Estonia is to launch a re-run of auction for the 1GW Saare 1 offshore wind licence area in January, nearly 12 months after a first attempt received no bids.
It is also set to launch a new expressions of interest call for the Saare 3 offshore wind area following its failure to attract any bids back in July.
Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) will announce the Saare 1 auction plans tomorrow, it is understood.
Three developers are set to take part in the auction including CI Estonia Wind GmbH & Co. KG, owned by Luxcara. It made an application for the area 60km west of Saaremaa back in April.
In that application it set out plans for up to 50 turbines, one substation, cables and, if possible, up to three hydrogen production platforms.
Two new applications from OÜ Utilitas Wind and French firm Oxan Energy were received as part of a 60-day search for at least one more bidder for the site to compete with Luxcara.
According to the CPTRA a minimum of two bidders are needed for an auction under Estonian rules.
If there had been no competing applications then, according to the CPTRA, Luxcara may have been awarded the site without a need for an auction.
The CPTRA added that it would launch an expression of interest call for Saare 3 in the first quarter next year. It currently has one applicant for the area – Estonian company Saaremaa Roheenergia OÜ.