Ilmatar Energy has initiated the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) program for its Bothnia offshore wind project in Finland, which has the potential to generate up to 4GW of electricity. The EIA work is being conducted in collaboration with Ramboll Finland.
The Bothnia project is situated in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and consists of two sub-areas, Bothnia and Bothnia West. As part of the project development, Bothnia has been reduced to about half its original size, while Bothnia West has been decreased by approximately 40%.
Jori Sihvonen, Ilmatar's offshore project manager for the EEZ, explained, “At this stage, we have chosen to proceed on areas with minimal overlap with other interests, such as shipping and fishing. We have also considered the depth conditions; the optimised project areas have a depth between 40 and 120 metres.”
Anna Häger, regional manager at Ilmatar, emphasized the iterative nature of the EIA process, stating, “This is the nature of the EIA process – you start big, and after thorough investigations, we end up with an optimised result since we have a better overview of a previously uncharted sea area and its surroundings.”
Despite the optimization efforts, Bothnia remains one of Finland's largest offshore wind projects, covering nearly 1,200 km2 and offering a potential energy production capacity of 4GW.
With the commencement of the EIA program, the Bothnia project now enters its consultation phase. During this phase, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY) in Southwest Finland will accept statements and views from stakeholders, other authorities, and the public. Open scoping consultations will be held in Rauma, Kristiinankaupunki, and online, with the deadline for submitting comments set for June 14, 2024.
