Estonia's Utilitas Wind completes installation of turbines at Targa wind farm in Latvia

TALLINN, June 15 (LETA--BNS) Estonian renewable energy producer Utilitas Wind has completed the installation of turbines at the Targa wind farm in the Ventspils region of Latvia.

Testing of the turbines will take place during the summer, with the full capacity start-up of the farm expected in the autumn, Utilitas said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Rapid strengthening of energy security is more important to the whole of Europe now than ever before. Wind energy has great potential in the Baltic region and its development is equally important for achieving the climate goals as well as ensuring energy security," said Rene Tammist, member of the management board of Utilitas Wind.

total of 14 wind generators with a capacity of 4.2 megawatts were installed at the Targa wind farm. The expected annual output of the wind farm is 155 gigawatt-hours, making it the largest wind farm in Latvia, according to Utilitas. By comparison, 155 gigawatt-hours is enough to meet the annual energy needs of more than 50,000 households.

The wind turbines were supplied by turbine manufacturer Vestas and have a peak height of 152 meters.The total cost of the investment is 70 million euros. The main contractor in the project was OU Nordecon Betoon in partnership with Verston OU and Connecto Eesti AS.

Earlier this spring, Utilitas Wind acquired a functioning wind farm in Latvia. The Grobina wind farm has 33 wind turbines with a total capacity of 20 megawatts. The goal of the company is to grow its generating portfolio throughout the region.

In Estonia, Utilitas is developing both offshore and onshore wind farms. The construction of the first onshore wind farms is expected to start already this year. With regard to the Saare-Liivi offshore farm to be built in the Gulf of Riga, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority has started the superficies license procedure and the process of environmental impact assessment has begun. The works to design and build the offshore wind farm are expected to take place from 2025 to 2027.