According to a study by the transmission system operator Fingrid, 6.5 GW of offshore wind power could be connected to the main grid over the next 10 years. In practice, this corresponds to about 6–10 offshore wind power projects. It is pertinent to ask how many offshore wind hubs are needed to implement these projects.
Building a competitive offshore wind hub can easily require an investment of EUR 100 million. There are not many ports or regions in Finland where an investment of this size would even be theoretically feasible, let alone economically sensible.
From the perspective of the national economy, the key is to develop hubs that are as strong as possible and can serve as credible partners for both Finnish and Swedish offshore wind power projects. In the worst-case scenario, building several smaller and inadequate hubs — and mutual rivalry between Finnish operators — could drive wind power operators to hubs built on the other side of the Gulf of Bothnia.
Pori is in a superior position when it comes to offshore wind hub development. Looking at the pure facts, Pori is a natural choice. The region is already home to the world’s first offshore wind farm that operates in frozen sea conditions, and the Port of Pori has already made significant investments, such as a RoRo ramp suitable for the transport of very heavy items and its background fields.
The Pori region also has a strong industrial tradition and an ecosystem that has been built over several decades. The Pori Offshore Wind Hub, located in the port, also offers unparalleled logistics: the railways run all the way to the quays and national road 2 passes directly to the port area. The region also has a long-term strategy for the utilisation of electricity produced from offshore wind.
Pori is a natural location for an offshore wind hub in the Bothnian Sea. An offshore wind hub typically has an operating radius of approximately 300–400 kilometres. In the northern part of the marine area, the Gulf of Bothnia, we engage in cooperation with the city and port of Raahe. The partnership focuses particularly on cooperation with educational institutions and the strengthening of subcontracting chains in the offshore wind industry. Partnering between pairs of ports is mutually beneficial and sensible from the perspective of the national economy. It ensures that investments are allocated to areas where projects have the best conditions to be realised and benefit not only the local municipalities but also Finland as a whole.