Construction of Poland’s first offshore wind farm set to begin

Construction of Poland’s first offshore wind farm is set to begin. Once fully operational in 2026, Baltic Power – which is a joint venture between Polish state energy giant Orlen and NP Baltic Wind, a subsidiary of Canada’s Northland Power – is set to supply around 3% of Poland’s electricity needs.

Orlen announced yesterday that it has secured all the requisite construction permits, contracted all key components and secured all necessary financing. It has also started the construction of a terminal in the port city of Świnoujście that will speed up the installation of offshore wind turbines.

“Despite the formidable challenges posed by the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and military conflict across our eastern border, we have adhered to the ambitious timeline we set from the outset,” said Orlen’s CEO, Daniel Obajtek. His firm describes Baltic wind as “Central Europe’s largest green energy project”.

The foundation laying for the Baltic Power project is scheduled for 2024. The wind farm will comprise of 76 250-metre-high turbines, each with a unit capacity of 15 MW. Total installed capacity will reach 1.2 GW in 2026.

Last month, Baltic Power signed loan agreements for a total of around €4.4 billion (a figure higher than the €3.6 billion initially reported) with 25 Polish and international financial institutions.

“This is the largest financing obtained for a single investment in Poland’s history and one of the largest transactions of its kind in the offshore area in Europe,” said Orlen.

Orlen has also secured licences for the construction of five additional wind farms, which will have a combined capacity of 5.2 GW. One will be located near Baltic Power – which will be 22.5 km from the coastline north of Łeba and Choczewo – while the other four will be situated near the city of Kołobrzeg.

The terminal being constructed at Świnoujście – which is expected to be operational in late 2024 or early 2025 – will be capable of installing wind turbines of 15 MW and above. Thanks to its location in northwest Poland, it will be able to serve German, Swedish and Danish projects, says Orlen.

The firm is aiming to achieve 9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, which it says will help to avoid approximately 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

As part of its energy transition strategy, the company also announced last month a $1 billion (4.2 billion zloty) investment in carbon capture and storage on Norway’s continental shelf.

Poland has one of Europe’s most polluting energy sectors. The country still relies on coal to produce around 70% of its electricity, by far the highest proportion in the EU.

But the government, which has been friendly towards the politically important coal sector, this year set a new target for Poland to produce three quarters of its energy from renewables and nuclear by 2040. The plans include offshore wind power capacity of 5.9 GW by 2030 and 18 GW in 2040.

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Main image credit: Orlen (press materials)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.