Finance minister: I recommend concentrating on onshore wind power first

There is no fundamental disagreement within the government on the issue of offshore wind farms, which will be discussed again this Thursday. However, it would be reasonable to first complete the construction of onshore wind farms before moving offshore, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) said on ERR's "Otse uudistemajast" webcast.
While the government has failed to reach an agreement for developing wind power in Estonia, the debate is not a matter of "making deals" or scoring political points, as the sides are simply trying to manage various risks, Ligi said Wednesday.
"To avoid excess load on consumers and building too many, as an offshore wind farm is a hugely expensive undertaking, my recommendation, or realistic proposal, is that we should move gradually by first building onshore wind (farms), which give us cheaper electricity, and only then inching toward the sea, which will not be yielding electricity before 2030 in any case," the finance minister suggested.
Ligi said that while the government remains committed to developing wind power, the question is how fast should progress be regarding offshore wind farms.
"Even though [initial] onshore wind plans may have been sufficient, we are not allowed to build them. (likely pointing to the Estonian Defense Forces' concerns over terrestrial wind farms obstructing the work of radars or NIMBY protests — ed.). That is why we cannot drop or postpone plans for offshore wind power," the minister said, adding that no one in the government is bringing obsessions to the cabinet and the sides are rather looking to hear from experts, try and understand one another and find common ground.

However, Ligi did give examples of efforts to fight wind power coming from elsewhere, with some protests allegedly backed by other political forces.
"It is serious and predictable that not everyone wants to see wind farms near where they live. There is a popular movement — a clearly politically orchestrated one — where people go from place to place to protest wind developments and ridicule on social media everything tied to sustainable development and renewable energy," he said.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Marcus Turovski