TALLINN - Finnish and Estonian environmental ministers signed an agreement on the installation of eight new wind-power generators on the Pakri Peninsula as part of Finland's plans to reduce its greenhouse emissions as demanded by the Kyoto protocol.
The 23 million euro, 300-hectare Pakri wind-park will initially have a capacity of 20 megawatts, which will increase to 70 megawatts over the next several years as new generators are erected.
According to the Kyoto protocol, Finland must cut down emissions of carbon dioxide from 2008 to 2012 by 8 percent against 1990 levels.
Under the deal with the Baltic state, Finland, will gain 500,00 tons worth of emission reductions from Estonia between 2004-2012.
Estonia in return will get an environmental energy source built using state-of-the-art Danish-German technology.
"In August 2004 we will have eight [wind generators], and in the second stage we will add 22 more," said Hannu Lamp, project manager from Tuulepargid, the developer of the wind park that is owned by Denmark's Global Green Energy.
"We will install and launch the first eight [wind generators] to get the project going and make it self-sufficient," Lamp explained.
Finance will come from various sources, with the Finnish government contributing about 10 percent and Nordea Bank issuing a loan that will cover 60 percent of the project. The remainder will come from Danish and Estonian investors.
Pakri Peninsula, set 50 kilometers from Tallinn next to the town of Paldiski, is the windiest place in Estonia, according to meteorologists. The average wind speed at a height of 10 meters is 7 meters per second. At 80 meters the average speed reaches 8 meters per second, though in the fall it is usually two times higher.
Lamp said every wind-power generator would produce up to 2,500 kilowatts of energy per hour in peak season - i.e., in autumn.
Once the first stage of the project is completed in August, the wind park will be able to produce 50 million kilowatts of energy annually, or 0.7 percent of Estonia's electricity consumption.
The completed Pakri wind-park of 30 generators will increase output to 2.5 percent of total electricity consumption.
The second stage of the project, however, will only start in 2005 at the earliest.
"Without additional investments coming from the sale of emission quotas, the project will not develop," said Lamp.
According to EU regulations, Estonia has to increase the share of the so-called green energy to 5.1 percent of the total by 2010, and the experts consider wind-power generators one of the main options.
