Elering completes environmental impact assessment programme for EstLink 3 marine section

The programme outlines the extent of the marine cable’s area of influence, the environmental components affected, and the requirements for conducting the environmental impact assessment. The EIA must identify potential significant impacts of constructing the marine section of the interconnection on the environment and on people, and provide recommendations for avoiding and mitigating negative effects. To assess the impact, various studies and expert evaluations must be conducted, covering topics such as underwater objects, affected marine fauna and birdlife, maritime transport and infrastructure, human well-being, protected natural areas, and climate-related impacts.

As EstLink 3 is a cross-border electricity interconnection, the process involves transboundary procedures, and comments received from the Finnish authorities must be taken into account during the assessment. The final EIA report is expected to be completed by 2027.

The programme is publicly available for consultation on the CPTRA website. Comments and suggestions can be submitted between 31 March and 21 April. A public discussion to present the programme and gather feedback will be held on 23 April at 17:30 at Sutlepa Community Centre in Lääne-Nigula municipality.

The third electricity interconnection with Finland will further enhance security of supply, support the achievement of climate and energy policy objectives, and strengthen the integration of the Baltic and Nordic countries into a single electricity market.

The EstLink 3 project consists of three main parts: the construction of a subsea cable, converter stations on both sides of the Gulf of Finland, and grid reinforcement works in various locations in Estonia and Finland. The planned transmission capacity of the new direct current (DC) connection is 700 MW.

Elering is expected to make the investment decision between 2026 and 2027. The interconnection is projected to be completed by 2035.

Currently, Estonia has two electricity interconnections with Finland:

• EstLink 1, with a capacity of 350 MW, originating from the Harku substation in Estonia and completed in 2006, and

• EstLink 2, with a capacity of 650 MW, connected to the transmission grid at the Püssi substation and completed in 2014.