Eight Baltic Sea electricity TSOs publish offshore system study to promote coordinated sea basin planning

The electricity Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of eight countries bordering the Baltic Sea today published the first comprehensive regional system study for offshore network infrastructure and offshore wind, marking a significant step toward coordinated sea basin planning in Europe.

The TSOs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden – organised in the Baltic Offshore Grid Initiative (BOGI) – developed a study that moves from electricity transmission corridors to potential projects for the 2040-time horizon. The results show that the Baltic Sea region can become a clean energy hub, with around 13 GW of new cross-border interconnectors and up to 50 GW of additional offshore wind identified by 2040. These connections include point-to-point links between countries and strategic offshore nodes such as Bornholm, which could serve as future hybrid hubs. The market modelling indicates that these interconnectors would operate with high utilisation throughout the year and significantly reduce system costs, price peaks and CO₂ emissions.

It builds on the latest national development plans and the European Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) framework and offers a common analytical basis for joint decision making and more aligned national planning processes. The study also highlights the important role of sector coupling. Offshore wind will not only provide electricity directly to consumers but also feed a growing hydrogen system. The Baltic Sea is expected to act as a net exporter of electricity to the rest of Europe, underlining its strategic value for regional energy security.

Dedicated sensitivity analyses examine how different developments in demand of electricity and hydrogen, availability of onshore renewable energy sources or investment costs influence network infrastructure needs and offshore wind build-outs. While the scale of offshore wind and hydrogen production shifts strongly across sensitivities, the results show that interconnector projects remain robust.

With the publication of this study a few days before the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, the Baltic Sea region positions itself as a frontrunner in regional offshore cooperation. The approach and methodology offer a practical example for other European sea basins.  Regional offshore cooperation is key to unlocking the potential of network infrastructure and offshore wind energy in all European sea-basins.

The eight TSOs of the Baltic Sea are 50Hertz (Germany), AST (Latvia), Elering (Estonia), Energinet (Denmark), Fingrid (Finland), Litgrid (Lithuania), PSE (Poland) and Svenska kraftnät (Sweden).