Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) has initiated the building permit procedure for the third power interconnection between Estonia and Finland. The planned EstLink 3 interconnector consists of a direct current offshore cable, an onshore cable, a converter station near Aulepa in Lääne-Nigula municipality, and a new 330 kV overhead line on land that will connect EstLink 3 to the existing 330 kV network in Western Estonia. It would be able to transmit 700 MW as of 2035.
In late July 2024, the Estonian transmission system operator (TSO) Elering had submitted a request to the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture to initiate a plan for the implementation of land-based network reinforcements related to the construction of the project. According to the TSO, the establishment of a new electricity connection between Estonia and Finland requires the strengthening of the existing network and it is thus necessary to build a new high-voltage substation in Tallinn.
Estonia currently has two electricity connections with Finland, including EstLink 1 with a capacity of 350 MW, completed in 2006, and EstLink 2 with a capacity of 650 MW, completed in 2014.