Fingrid’s Offshore Wind Connection Plan: A Step Towards a Greener Future or an Insurmountable Challenge?

Fingrid is developing a plan to connect offshore wind power to the national grid, with five planned connection points each capable of producing 1,300 megawatts. These points are located near Raisio, Ulvila, Närpiö, Vaasa, and Raahe. However, there are limitations as only 6,500 megawatts of new grid connections are available despite receiving 95,000 megawatts of inquiries.

Fingrid’s plan considers strategic planning of the connection points based on efficiency in building the main network. The construction of these connection points will require significant effort from Fingrid. In addition to the five planned points, an opportunity exists to connect a large offshore wind farm to Inkoosee in Uudellemaa due to existing network connections from a former coal-fired power plant.

The head of strategic network planning at Fingrid, Mikko Heikkilä, notes that not all offshore wind projects may be feasible due to the development of electricity demand and the competitiveness of offshore wind power. The current planned connections have a maximum size due to the limitations of the Finnish electricity system to handle sudden power fluctuations. There is also potential to connect consumption points like hydrogen plants to these offshore wind connection points.

Offshore wind projects in Finland are planned for territorial waters, the economic zone and the Åland Islands. These projects are managed by Metsähallitus through auctions for project areas. While there is interest in offshore wind power it remains more expensive compared to onshore wind power. The Finnish Defense Forces have also prevented wind power projects in certain areas due to interference with research activities.

Despite substantial plans for wind power projects both onshore and offshore only a fraction of them are expected to be realized. Fingrid’s scenarios predict a significant increase in electricity consumption in Finland which would necessitate the development of new infrastructure and production capacities as