An Estonian company builds the Baltic’s largest wind farm, boosting green electricity, energy independence and the local economy with EU backing

Lauri Ulm heads wind development in Finland, Baltics, and Poland at Enefit Green, a leading energy producer and developer in the Baltic region and a subsidiary of the Eesti Energia group. For over a decade, he has poured his energy into the construction of the country’s biggest onshore wind farm, Sopi-Tootsi, which he affectionately calls his “little baby”. For Ulm, this project isn't just about generating electricity. He aims to foster a sustainable future for Estonia.

“When I started working on wind farms, they were seen as outdated relics of an old subsidy scheme, and it wasn't popular to develop them,” he says. “Now this is changing, and our project is the best example of that.”

The Sopi-Tootsi project started in 2012, when a peat mine shut down in Põhja-Pärnumaa, a municipality in southeast Estonia. Local officials and Eesti Energia saw this as an opportunity for change. They envisioned repurposing the area for renewable energy. With 38 turbines Sopi-Tootsi is set to be the most powerful wind farm in the Baltic region. Upon completion, the wind farm will be capable of powering over 197,000 households annually.

“The farm will provide green electricity to almost a tenth of Estonia’s electricity consumers,” Ulimi says.

The European Investment Bank is supporting Enefit Green with €180 million financing agreement signed in September 2023. That’s just one of many investments in Estonia by the European Union’s financing arm. Last year, we invested €540 million in Estonia, which is equal to almost 1.4% of the country’s gross domestic product—a higher proportion than in any other EU country.

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