"We will not be able to make this decision by the end of the year. There is no need for us to race against time," Sutt told ERR.

"I personally believe that offshore wind energy has potential, but it must be financially feasible. This is not a topic for this year and perhaps not even for next year. However, we must prepare so that we have options available. Whether and which options to pursue — time will tell," he added.

"I think this could easily become a topic for the next elections as well," Sutt said.

Sutt explained that moving forward with onshore wind farms is not just a matter of tenders but also a question of trust between communities, developers and the state.

"If the local community is not on board, we cannot build a wind farm. There are communities that are actually supportive and wind farm construction and development are already underway. So, it's not a black-and-white issue where everyone is opposed. We need to work on fostering broader societal consensus while also advancing wind farms, solar farms and energy storage. A combination of all three is likely to be the most effective. And then, whether we need offshore wind farms and have the space for them will depend largely on the regional energy production capacity. This is not just an issue for Estonia," Sutt explained.

Sutt also noted that if a community opposes a wind farm, it cannot be built, but in that case, people must also accept higher electricity prices.

On February 20, the government decided not to support the construction of offshore wind farms with up to €2.6 billion in funding. The Ministry of Climate failed to produce calculations to demonstrate how this would ensure promised cheaper energy prices or what it's forecast of Estonia seeing a major boost in energy consumption over the next decade was based on. However, the ministry pledged to continue analyzing the feasibility of offshore wind farms.

On January 26, the leaders of the coalition parties agreed that Estonia would support the construction of wind energy projects with a total annual output of four terawatt-hours. According to the agreement, two terawatt-hours were to come from onshore projects with total support of up to €240 million, while the remaining two terawatt-hours were to come from offshore projects with support of up to €2.6 billion.

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