Utilitas’ first wind farm in Estonia was opened in Saarde Parish

The estimated annual production of 135 GWh of the Saarde wind farm, which consists of nine wind turbines, makes it the most productive wind farm in Estonia.

The generators of the Vestas V150 type wind turbines installed in the park have a capacity of 4.3 MW and the total capacity of the wind farm 39 MW. Saarde wind farm is the most modern wind farm in Estonia. Compared to, for example, wind turbines built 10 years ago, new generators with a tip hight 230 meters can produce almost twice as much energy per wind turbine.

“Saarde wind farm is our first wind farm in Estonia, with the total capacity of which we are able to cover the annual electricity consumption of 40,000 households. Our goals are not limited to just one wind farm, and we contribute to the national goal of covering the whole of Estonia with renewable electricity through the development of both onshore and offshore wind farms. The sooner new renewable energy production capacities are built in Estonia, the better the prospects are for ensuring a reasonable and more stable electricity price for the economy and consumers,” said Priit Koit, CEO of Utilitas Group.

“Estonia’s ambition to produce more environmentally friendly electricity means, above all, diversifying its production. Wind farms play an important role here. I hope that the thirst for development will not run out and that the plans that have been on paper so far will become real decisions and work. By investing in environmentally friendly and smart technology, we are also increasing Estonia’s attractiveness to investors in the rest of the world,” said Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Estonia.

The wind turbines are located in the southeastern part of Saarde parish, Pärnu County, the nearest wind turbine is more than 10 km from Kilingi-Nõmme and more than 5 km from Tihemetsa. The construction works of the wind farm were carried out by Nordecon Betoon, Verston and Connecto, and in cooperation with Elering, a new substation was built for the wind farm. Utilitas invested 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 continues to develop renewable energy production capacities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Photo gallery of the opening event.

Utilitas is the largest renewable energy producer and district heating company in Estonia and one of the leading wind energy producers in the region. In 2022, Utilitas produced 2.3 TWh of energy, 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 green hydrogen.