Estonian, Finnish system operators start joint activities to build Estlink 3

  • 2022-06-28
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – The electricity system operators of Estonia and Finland, Elering and Fingrid, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday in which they agreed to start working together with a view to building the third Estonia-Finland electricity connection, Estlink 3.

The system operators agreed on joint actions covering technical issues, necessary investments and the timetable, Elering said in a press release.

"The need for additional transmission capacity clearly stems from the objectives of the integration of the electricity market of the Baltic Sea region, security of supply and energy security, as well as the European Union's climate and renewable energy goals," said Taavi Veskimagi, CEO of Elering.

In the case of Estlink 3, one of the issues to be decided is capacity, which can range from 700 to 1,000 megawatts. It is expected that the new connection could be launched in the first half of the next decade.

On the Estonian side, a preliminary study for the overland route of the new interconnection has been completed on commission from Elering, according to which one of the most probable starting points for the new undersea connection on the Estonian side is the Paldiski area.

There are currently two direct current interconnections in operation between Estonia and Finland. Estlink 1 and Estlink 2 have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts combined. The first of them started operation in 2006 and the second in 2013.