The playing field for utilising offshore wind power is clearing up. Legislation, competitive tendering of operators and options for connecting to the main grid provide the framework for the future operations of the Pori Offshore Wind Hub.
A law that entered into force at the beginning of the year clarifies the regulation of offshore wind power projects in Finland’s exclusive economic zone. Regulation ensures that rights to the utilisation of offshore wind power are granted in a fair, transparent and predictable manner.
The exclusive economic zone of Finland is an international sea area, and the new law allows the Government to select areas that are suitable for offshore wind power within the economic zone and make decisions on carrying out competitive tendering regarding them.
Energy Authority is responsible for the tendering
The competitive tendering is organised by the Finnish Energy Authority, and the winner of a tender is granted the exclusive right to apply for an exploitation permit for the area. The exploitation permit grants the offshore wind power project the right of use in the area for a fixed period of time.
The winners of tenders are selected on the basis of both price and qualitative factors. The qualitative factors will be detailed in a Government Decree which will be completed later this year.
If the winner of the tender does not apply for an exploitation permit, the opportunity to apply for a permit is given to the party that came second in the competitive tendering. The aim of the model is to ensure that the rights of use are granted to companies that are able to implement the projects.
Connection to the main grid is one of Pori’s strengths
The ease of connecting to the main grid is one of the strengths of the Pori Offshore Wind Hub. A report published late last year by the transmission system operator Fingrid identified seven potential opportunities for connecting offshore wind power to the Finnish main grid. One of these is located in the municipality of Ulvila, right next to Pori.
The Pori region is at the top of Fingrid’s priority list for offshore wind power connections: according to a preliminary schedule, it would be possible to connect a maximum capacity of 1.3 GW to the main grid as early as 2028.
The implementation of offshore wind power connections requires investments in strengthening the main grid, and carrying out these investments will be evaluated in the future as part of the main grid development plan.
The connection points have already been planned at the substation-specific level. The targets for investments in strengthening the main grid required for implementing the connections are also already clear. In addition, Fingrid is updating its connection agreement practices in order to take into account the above-average size of offshore wind power projects.
Two-year window for investments
In large projects, acquiring permits takes longer and customers have to make significant financial commitments before a permit is granted. Fingrid has planned a new type of preliminary agreement that would ensure the main grid connection capacity required by the customer for a fixed period of time before the signing of the actual connection agreement.
Pori is the best option in the Bothnian Sea region for transferring electricity that is produced offshore smoothly to the national grid.
Fingrid’s report aligns with the target schedule of the Pori Offshore Wind Hub, as did the letter of intent regarding the development of the Pori Offshore Wind Hub project signed in January 2025 by the City of Pori, the Port of Pori and Tahkoluoto Offshore, the company planning the expansion of the Tahkoluoto Offshore wind farm.
The cooperation defines in more detail the use of Pori Offshore Wind Hub as the primary logistics and pre-installation centre for the expansion project of Tahkoluoto Offshore wind farm. The letter of intent provides a clear two-year window for implementing the necessary investments in the port area.