Offshore wind energy development

Coupled projects CINTERREG IIIB Seagull Project and TACIS Seagull RC Project "Russian component of the development strategy for Euroregion Baltic" successfully ended with a Draft of the Joint Development Transnational Program for the Euroregion Baltic in 2005. This Euroregion geographically unites the members of UBC - Kalmar, Karlskrona, Ronne, Gdansk-Gdynia, Kaliningrad, Baltijsk, Klaipeda, Liepaia, as well as surrounding rural areas. This draft in a part of environment and energy sector declares the challenged aim to make the Euroregion Baltic and its cities front-runners in the implementation of EU environment and energy policies. The focus should be on bio-energy and wind-power.

The ERB partners in Kaliningrad Oblast will widely support a new project "Perspectives of Offshore Wind Energy Development in Marine Areas of Lithuania, Poland and Russia (POWER)" initiatively submitted by following scientific institutions: Maritime Institute in Gdansk (Poland), Atlantic Branch of P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) and Coastal Research and Planning Institute of the Klaipeda University (Lithuania). This project was supported by TACIS-INTERREG IIIA program and shall start soon. Some attempts were made in 2004 by the relevant authorities to analyse possibilities of development of an offshore wind mill park in the Baltic Sea near the coast of the City of Baltijsk and in the Vistula Lagoon area. Economic assessment produced a negative result.

The offshore based wind mill park was estimated as more expensive than the land-based one. But, the technology is currently improving and difference in proportions in economic values of land, water and energy between the EU and Russia is becoming less and less. Therefore, the prospects for effective development of wind energy production in the Baltic Sea coastal zones of three neighbouring countries Lithuania, Russia and Poland still exist. Renewable energy sources, including wind, is an important component of sustainable development of local municipalities in the region.

by Mr Boris Chubarenko
Mr Vadim Sivkov
Mr Viktor Koshelev