Polish Utility Eyes Shift to Offshore Wind

Poland’s state-run utility Tauron is planning to optimize investments and limit operations in the mining and heating segments to focus on renewable energy, including offshore wind.

Tauron plans to increase the share of low and zero emission sources in its production mix by involving in the construction of offshore wind farms and investing in onshore wind and solar farms by 2025.

The Polish company said it is considering the sale of shares in the Stalowa Wola power plant and PGE EJ1, as well as seeking buyers for the Janina Coal Mine and the TAURON Ciepło heating company.

“Thanks to the implementation of the planned activities, it will be possible to increase the share of low- and zero-emission sources in the generation structure of the TAURON Group to nearly 30 percent in 2025 and over 65 percent in 2030,” said Marek Wadowski, Vice President-Finance Management Board at TAURON Polska Energia.

The decision complements the company’s strategy for 2016-2025, Tauron said, adding that market verification will now be conducted to examine the possibilities.

Poland has set plans to develop 8GW of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea by 2035. The country could receive first offshore wind power by 2025 through the Polenergia Bałtyk III project developed by Polenergia and Equinor.