Consultation round begins: Draft decree on offshore wind power in the exclusive economic zone
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has sent out for comments a draft government decree on offshore wind power in the exclusive economic zone. Comments and opinions on the proposal should primarily be submitted under the ‘request for comments’ published on the lausuntopalvelu.fi website by 18 August 2025.
The draft government decree contains more detailed provisions on the new procedure for granting the right to use the offshore wind power areas selected in Finland’s exclusive economic zone. The decree is based on the Act on Offshore Wind Power in the Exclusive Economic Zone, which entered into force at the beginning of the year.
The key content of the decree concerns the competitive tendering process for offshore wind power areas organised by the Energy Authority and the securities related to the procedure. The decree would lay down provisions on the tendering model selected, conditions for participating in the tender, criteria for selecting the winner of the tender, amounts of the tendering security and performance security, and increases to the performance security.
Those participating in the tender must have sufficient expertise, experience and the financial capacity to advance the offshore wind power project. The decree would prescribe that each participant lodge a EUR 1 million tendering security, which would be released to each participant after the end of the tendering process, with the exception of the winner of the tender. The tendering security would be released to the winner after the winner has lodged a performance security.
A performance security has a much longer term than a tendering security. The winner of the tender is required to lodge a performance security within three months after the decision on the exploitation permit has been granted. The security will be released after the wind farm has been taken into use as planned. Because the winner of the tender is required to increase the amount of the performance security over time, it could total tens of millions of euros. For example, the amount of the performance security would rise to EUR 37 million during a 10-year project. However, considering the size of the projects, the performance security is not estimated to be an unreasonable burden on companies. Typically, offshore wind power projects are billion-euro investment projects where the project development costs amount to EUR 100–200 million.
The consultation round on the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of offshore wind power areas in the exclusive economic zone has also recently begun. It concerns the Government’s draft decision currently under preparation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, which will define one or more areas in Finland’s exclusive economic zone for offshore wind power use. The Government may also decide on the timetable for the competitive tendering process for the right to use the areas. The Government will make an actual decision on offshore wind power areas in the exclusive economic zone after the SEA assessment has been completed.
Comments on the draft decree will be accepted until 18 August
Comments should be submitted under the ‘request for comments’ published on the lausuntopalvelu.fi website. It is not necessary to send the comments by e-mail or post. Those submitting a comment must register and log into the lausuntopalvelu.fi service. More detailed instructions are available in Finnish or Swedish on the website at: Ohjeet > Käyttöohjeet or Anvisningar > Bruksanvisningar
If the comment cannot be submitted via the lausuntopalvelu.fi website, it can be emailed to the Registry of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment at kirjaamo.tem(at)gov.fi All comments are public. Please use the register number VN/2058/2025 in the comment.
Inquiries:
Pekka Grönlund, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 064 815 (available for comments 23 June–1 July)
Tuuli Oikarinen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 047 292 (available for comments from 2 July)