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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Danish firm Vestas – one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers – has suspended plans to build a major new factory in Poland.
The plant, in the coastal city of Szczecin, was expected to supply Poland’s planned wind farms in the Baltic Sea, as well as other projects in Europe and beyond. It was due to launch in 2026 and create over 1,000 jobs directly.
However, in a statement to the Financial Times and Reuters, Vestas said that the project had been “paused due to lower than projected demand for offshore wind in Europe”.
Vestas shelves Polish turbine plant amid weak European demand
Danish group’s move to suspend investment in Szczecin facility underlines challenge for continent’s offshore wind sectorhttps://t.co/rlMpodkzof— Giovanni Staunovo🛢 (@staunovo) October 18, 2025
In 2022, Vestas was announced as a preferred supplier for the Baltic Power project, Poland’s first offshore wind farm, which is being built in a joint venture by Polish state energy giant Orlen and Canada’s Northland Power. Construction of Baltic Power began in February this year.
Vestas subsequently established a plant in Szczecin for assembling nacelles, which are the part of turbines that house the generating component. That facility is supplying nacelles to Baltic Power, which completed installation of its first turbine in July.
Last year, Vesta additionally announced the creation of a second, even larger, offshore wind factory in Szczecin, which would produce turbine blades. But that project has now been put on hold.
“Our plans for two offshore factories in Poland underline that Europe can spur wind industry investments and green jobs with the right long-term policy commitments for offshore wind projects,” said Vesta’s chief operating officer, Tommy Rahbek Nielsen, when announcing the second Szczecin plant last year.
“Poland has a highly skilled labour force and growing wind industry that can become an offshore hub for the Baltic Region and the rest of Europe,” he added. However, it is now unclear when – or even if – the new turbine blade facility will open.
Polish energy news service Wysokie Napięcie notes that Vestas’ announcement comes amid a broader EU-wide downturn for the wind sector as well as the rise of Chinese turbine manufacturers.
Construction of Poland’s first offshore wind farm has begun in the Baltic Sea.
The facility, which is being established by Polish state energy giant Orlen and Canada’s Northland Power, is expected to begin operation next year with a capacity of 1.2 GW https://t.co/cYPp0rQya1
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 6, 2025
The Baltic Power project itself is scheduled to begin producing electricity from 2026, eventually reaching a capacity of 1.2 GW and providing energy to over 1.5 million households.
Poland is also planning to develop further offshore wind farms in the Baltic, where it wants total installed capacity to reach 5.9 GW in 2030 and 11 GW in 2040. Those efforts are part of a broader move to shift away from coal, which still produces most of Poland’s power, to cleaner renewables and nuclear.
In January this year, another Danish firm, Ørsted, and Polish state-owned energy firm PGE confirmed a final investment decision to build the 1.5 GW-capacity Baltica 2, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
With growing military, economic and energy ties around the Baltic Sea, Poland's geopolitical focus is increasingly towards the north, unlike for most of its recent history, writes @danieltilles1 https://t.co/RQIHf01mFj
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 10, 2025
In May, Poland’s biggest private energy company, Polenergia, and Norway’s Equinor likewise gave final approval to plans for two wind farms in the Baltic that are expected to have a combined capacity of 1.4 GW
However, Poland’s green energy transition plans have recently been hit by difficulties. In August, new opposition-aligned President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a government bill that would have eased rules for building onshore wind turbines.
Earlier this month, the European Commission launched legal action against Poland for failing to submit a final version of its long-term strategy for reducing emissions. It is the only EU member state that has not yet done so.
The @EU_Commission has launched legal action against Poland over its failure to submit a plan for reducing emissions.
Poland is the only member state that has failed to produce the document, the final deadline for which passed well over a year ago https://t.co/7ia7Yq3nZB
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 8, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Vestas (press material)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
