The Gulf of Riga as a resource for wind energy — a project description

Wind is one of the main renewable energy resources. The planning of offshore wind farms is an ongoing process and the Gulf of Riga region is no exception. Accurate information on marine wind field with high spatial and temporal resolution is therefore needed. Rough ice conditions in the Gulf of Riga could impose a threat to the construction and operation of offshore wind parks. The Gulf of Riga is an important habitat area for marine mammals and birds. They could suffer the most from the operational activity of wind parks. People are afraid that their living standards may decrease. In several cases it remains uncertain how the planned wind parks contribute to the energy needs of adjacent counties. The project aims directly at producing policy-relevant and scientifically based information on wind energy fields, the most affected key natural species populations and social reactions of and economic benefits for the entire Gulf of Riga region. A decision-making tool based on spatial planning methods of the GIS environment will be developed to facilitate common planning for the exploitation of wind energy in the Gulf of Riga region. Dynamic maps of wind energy, ice conditions, migrating and wintering bird populations, and seals dating back to 2001 and having the projection to future climate will be produced. The indicators for spatial planning with regard to public attitude towards the development of wind parks and for the quantification of local plans concerning renewal energy consumption will be developed and integrated into the decision-making tool. The outputs of the project contribute to the elaboration of policy-relevant, environmental and socio-economic issues related to the exploitation of renewable energy. The project objectives are to provide the decision-makers and potential developers of wind parks in the Gulf of Riga with reliable marine wind information derived from high-resolution remote sensing data, coastal wind measurements and an ensemble of regional climate models. Wind fields will be complemented with the information on habitat areas for seals and wintering, migrating and breeding birds. Local people and authorities will be involved in the active process of the selection of suitable areas for wind parks through mapping their attitude and considering the requirements for the areas of renewable energy. The project partners are research institutes and funds for nature from Estonia and Latvia and the project period is from July 2010 until June 2012. This project is financed by the Estonia-Latvia Programme. Estonia-Latvia Programme is implemented according to the principles of the European Territorial Cooperation and it supports cross-border cooperation between Estonia and Latvia. It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Latvia.