Suomen Hyötytuuli commissioned the 40MW Tahkoluoto offshore off the south-west Finland, in the gulf of Bothnia, in 2017.
It is now carrying out preliminary studies for a large extension, according to planning documents, and considering two options that would result in at least a ten-fold increase to the project’s capacity.
The first option is to add up to 40 11-16MW turbines with tip heights of up to 300 metres across a 128km2 area adjacent to the existing wind farm, resulting in a capacity increase of 440-640MW.
A second option would add 45 turbines across a 135km2 area 7.8km to east of the original project, resulting in a capacity increase of 495-720MW.
In either case, the wind farm would be connected to the existing grid in Tahkoluoto, with construction scheduled to start no earlier than 2023 and commissioning taking place from 2025.
Suomen Hyotytuuli has not made a firm decision on foundations but suggested it may install gravity-base foundations as deployed at the pilot wind farm.
At the initial 40MW project, the developer deployed foundations specifically designed to withstand the icy conditions of the Gulf of Bothnia.
The project is in a preliminary study phase, but Suomen Hyotytuuli aims to secure all necessary permits for the extension by the second quarter of 2022.
