Saarde wind farm components arrive in Estonia

All the components of the first modern wind farm in Estonia to be built by Utilitas will have arrived in Estonia by the end of April, the erection of the wind turbines begins in May, and the farm will start supplying electricity to the grid this summer.

From March to the end of April, the components of the Saarde wind farm’s nine Vestas wind turbines (blades, towers, and nacelles) will arrive by sea, to the Paldiski port. At the beginning of May, the shipments will be transported in large loads at night via Tallinn-Tartu and Tallinn-Pärnu roads to the Saarde wind farm, and the erection of the wind turbines will begin. Simultaneously, in cooperation with Elering, a new substation is being built on the wind farm, which is planned to be fully completed by the beginning of July.

“Establishing wind farms is the fastest way to reduce the price of electricity in our region and reduce the impact of electricity production on the climate at the same time. The new wind turbines are very efficient and provide a large amount of green electricity to the market at a reasonable price,” explained Utilitas Wind Board Member Rene Tammist.

Nine wind turbines will be erected in the Utilitas Saarde wind farm, and their expected annual production is 135 GWh, which covers the annual electricity consumption of more than 40,000 households. The Vestas V150 type wind turbines used are currently the most modern and efficient wind turbines installed in Estonia. The capacity of one wind turbine is 4.3 MW.

The wind turbines will be installed in and scattered across three areas in the southeastern part of Saarde municipality. The wind turbine nearest to households is more than ten kilometers from Kilingi-Nõmme and more than five kilometers from Tihemetsa borough.

Nordecon Betoon, Verston and Connecto are the companies carrying out the wind farm’s construction works, and Elering is building a new substation or the wind farm. Several local subcontractors and suppliers will be involved as well. Utilitas is investing more than 60 million euros in the construction of the Saarde wind farm. The group owns two wind farms in Latvia with a total capacity of 79 MW, and the company is developing new renewable energy production capacities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Utilitas is the largest renewable energy producer and district heating company in Estonia, and the largest wind energy producer in Latvia. In 2022, Utilitas produced 1.9 TWh of heat and 405 GWh of electricity. 69% of energy was produced from renewable sources. Utilitas is moving towards carbon neutrality by building new renewable energy production capacities in the region, investing in solar and wind energy, and implementing the first green hydrogen pilot project.

A photo gallery of the arrival of Saarde wind turbine components to the port