Halla

OX2 completed and submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Halla offshore wind project to the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Finland on 24 January 2025, covering the wind farm, internal grid, hydrogen production and pipelines, dredged material disposal, submarine cables, and onshore hydrogen storage and electricity transmission infrastructure.

A multi‑year programme of seabed and environmental field surveys for the Halla offshore wind project, enabled by the exploration permit and covering the offshore site and associated corridors between 2021 and 2024, had been carried out by 2024 to provide baseline data for the project’s environmental impact assessment and technical planning.

On 2 May 2024, the Finnish Government decided to reject all 16 pending applications for utilisation rights on the exclusive economic zone, including Halla’s application, concluding that the criteria in the Economic Zone Act allowed broad discretion and that in this case considerations favouring refusal were predominant.

On 2 May 2024, the Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto) rejected all 16 pending applications for area utilisation rights (hyödyntämisoikeus/area reservation) on the Finnish exclusive economic zone, including OX2’s application for the Halla offshore wind project submitted on 23 December 2022. The decision, taken under the Exclusive Economic Zone Act and based on broad discretionary assessment of overall state interests where multiple parties sought rights to overlapping areas, means Halla did not receive an exclusive right to use its proposed EEZ area for offshore wind at that time.

Geophysical seabed investigations for the Halla offshore wind project, undertaken under the research permit to determine bathymetry and subsurface layering in the project area, were carried out over 2022–2023 and had been completed by the end of 2023.

By 2023, a study of the risk of unexploded ordnance occurrence off Raahe (UXO-selvitys), prepared by Luode Consulting Oy and colleagues, had been completed for the Halla offshore wind project area, providing input on UXO-related constraints for project planning and environmental assessment.

Geotechnical surveys for the Halla offshore wind farm, conducted together with geophysical investigations to study seabed soils and subsurface structure in the Finnish EEZ project area, were undertaken during 2022–2023 and had concluded by the end of 2023.

Swedish developer OX2 agreed to sell a 49% equity stake in its three Finnish offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Bothnia, including the Halla offshore wind farm, to Ingka Investments, the investment arm of IKEA’s largest retail group. Following completion, development costs for the projects are to be shared in line with the new ownership structure, with the transaction subject to customary merger control and expected to close within about two months of the announcement.

Following the granting of its exploration permit, Halla Offshore Wind Oy began geophysical investigations in 2022 to map seabed depth conditions and the structure of the seabed and underlying layers within the Halla project area in the Finnish EEZ.

In 2022, Halla Offshore Wind Oy commenced geotechnical investigations in the Halla project area, alongside geophysical work, to characterise seabed soils and the structure of the seabed and underlying layers to support turbine and cable foundation design.

On 23 December 2022, OX2, via Halla Offshore Wind Oy, applied to the Finnish Government (Council of State) for an area utilisation right for the Halla offshore wind project, seeking an area reservation and exclusive right to use the designated EEZ area for offshore wind power production; this application was one of 16 such EEZ utilisation right applications later considered together by the Government.

On 23 December 2022, OX2 submitted an application to the Finnish Government for a utilisation right, seeking an exclusive area reservation on the Halla project site in the Finnish exclusive economic zone to produce offshore wind power.

The Finnish Government granted OX2 an exploration permit for the Halla offshore wind project in January 2022, enabling the start of extensive seabed surveys; the permit, under which surveys were carried out during 2021–2024, is valid until October 2026.

OX2 began developing the Halla offshore wind power project in Finland’s Gulf of Bothnia in 2021, initiating project development activities for an offshore wind farm of up to 160 turbines in the Finnish exclusive economic zone through project company Halla Offshore Wind Oy.

From 2021, OX2 carried out broader field and environmental surveys for the Halla offshore wind project, including seabed surveys and ecological fieldwork such as species surveys, to build baseline data for the EIA and project design in the Gulf of Bothnia.

OX2 filed an exploration permit application with the Finnish Government in May 2021 for the Halla offshore wind project, seeking authorisation to carry out more extensive seabed surveys in Finland’s exclusive economic zone off Oulu and Raahe.