Ilmatar Offshore has expressed its interest in developing an offshore wind farm on the north side of Aland, an autonomous region of Finland in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Ilmatar Offshore, a new subsidiary of Finland’s Ilmatar Energy, is interested in planning, constructing, owning and operating an offshore wind park in the northern marine area identified in the Aland marine spatial plan.
The company said an offshore wind farm in the area could be operational by 2030 generating renewable energy for the Alandic, Finnish and Swedish markets.
The Government of Aland created its first official marine spatial plan for the use of marine and coastal areas in 2021, where a “significant opportunity” for offshore wind production was identified, both in the northern and southern marine regions, with approximately 1000 square km potentially suitable for offshore wind.
This opportunity was named Project Sunnanvind.
Ilmatar Offshore is a newly founded company based in Mariehamn and is currently recruiting its team on Aland.
“Project Sunnanvind is a huge opportunity for Aland to establish itself as a key European renewable energy player.
“From an environmental point of view, there is no choice, really – we need to be heading towards a fossil-free future.
“And of course, the past weeks have tragically highlighted to us the need for a renewable energy transition from a self-sufficiency and security point of view”, said Kalle Pykala, co-founder and chairman of Ilmatar Energy.