Estonia: No need to halt offshore wind farm development: minister

Estonia’s Defence Ministry sees no need to halt the development of wind farms off the Estonian coast, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced, ERR reports. He insisted that air and maritime surveillance issues related to offshore wind farm projects were manageable. Pevkur assured that concerns expressed by the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) over the negative impact of the installations on surveillance, intelligence, and weapons systems would be taken into account. He said that green energy goals would be balanced with defence priorities. Earlier, the government pledged to lift height restrictions on offshore wind farms by the end of 2025, ERR reported. Meanwhile, EDF commander Andrus Merilo said that Sweden’s decision to halt the development of offshore wind farms for reasons of national security was the right move, echoing comments made by his predecessor, Tarmo Kõuts, ERR reported.