Transmission system operators (TSOs) from eight Baltic states have published a regional study setting out a coordinated approach to offshore grid and wind development through to 2040, aiming to cut costs and emissions while improving power market integration.
The analysis, produced under the Baltic Offshore Grid Initiative, is described as the first comprehensive cross-border assessment of offshore network corridors and projects in the Baltic Sea region. It identifies the need for around 13 gigawatts of new interconnector capacity and up to 50 GW of additional offshore wind, including point-to-point links and potential hybrid hubs such as the planned Bornholm energy island.
According to the study, power system modelling shows high utilisation of the proposed connections throughout the year, alongside reductions in overall system costs, electricity price peaks and carbon dioxide emissions.
The report builds on national energy and grid plans as well as the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity’s Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP). It also highlights the increasing interaction between offshore wind deployment and hydrogen production systems.
The TSOs said the Baltic region is expected to become a net exporter of electricity to the rest of Europe as offshore wind capacity expands.
Sensitivity analyses examined how different assumptions on electricity demand growth, onshore renewable deployment and investment costs would affect infrastructure requirements. While the scale and geographical distribution of offshore wind and hydrogen supply varied across scenarios, the study found that the proposed interconnector projects remained robust.
The initiative said the approach could serve as a template for wider European cooperation at sea-basin level, ahead of a North Sea summit due to take place in Hamburg.
The eight TSOs involved in the study are Germany’s 50Hertz, Latvia’s AST, Estonia’s Elering, Denmark’s Energinet, Finland’s Fingrid, Lithuania’s Litgrid, Poland’s PSE and Sweden’s Svenska Kraftnät.
