A roadmap for developing offshore wind in Åland
The autonomous island of Åland located between Finland and Sweden has a huge resource opportunity to develop offshore wind with some 6-10GW potential in the seabed area it legally controls.
Åland faces many challenges with offshore wind, which require an unique approach to sector development. This includes limited domestic demand and the limited capability to financially support the sector or provide revenue stabilisation mechanisms. At the same time, neighbouring markets Finland and Sweden have seen an increasing interest in offshore wind, raising the threat of competition and time pressure.
AFRY have developed a roadmap outlining the process and key decision points to support stakeholders, as Åland goes through the process of defining its approach to offshore wind. The roadmap describes how Åland can use its strengths to accelerate development of the offshore wind sector and position itself as a driving force for decarbonisation, while also reaping economic benefits from the new industry.
“Åland should aim to leverage developer competences to maximise competitiveness of offshore wind while maintaining control of key decision points” says Oliver Pearce, Senior Principal at AFRY Management Consulting. “By allowing experienced developers to find the most feasible designs and solutions, and closely interacting with them, Åland would benefit from developers experience and improve its capabilities to support the continued growth of its offshore wind sector” continues Joel Sarasti, Project Manager.
“We are very happy with the work AFRY has done and consider this roadmap an excellent reference point in future discussions as we are promoting offshore wind development in Åland”, says Jimmy Forsman, Portfolio Manager at Ålandsbanken Funds.
“With the roadmap created by AFRY, the offshore wind development in Åland has excellent potential to play a significant role in attaining the climate goals of Finland, Sweden, and Helen” says Jenny Söderman, M&A Director at Helen.
