Ørsted and PGE Seek More Room Offshore Poland

Poland’s PGE and Ørsted are applying for seabed acreage in the Polish Baltic Sea adjacent to the Baltica offshore wind project that the two companies are jointly developing.

The 45.E.1 area on Ławica Słupska covers 17 square kilometres and is directly adjacent to the 2.5 GW Baltica offshore wind project.

The application to the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure was submitted on 23 February.

”The location we are applying for, complements the acreage of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm, the largest offshore wind farm being built in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

”Over the next five years, we will commission the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 stages with a total capacity of approx. 2.5 GW. Obtaining a permit for an area of ​​approx. 17 sq. km will allow us to achieve synergy with the Baltica 2 project and guarantee maximizing the use of this part of the Baltic Sea, and ultimately will ensure an increase in green electricity production.”

The area covered by the joint application from PGE and Ørsted is located approximately 32 kilometres from the shore.

”Together with PGE, we are applying for a seabed lease area, which is relatively small, but is well located to be added to the already developed acreage of 320 sq. km where we will build the 2.5 GW Baltica Offshore Wind Farm, which will be one of the largest offshore wind farms in our global portfolio,” said Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted.

The first stage of the Baltica offshore wind farm, the 1,045 MW Baltica 3, is planned to become operational in 2026. The next stage, the 1.5 GW Baltica 2, is to be completed by 2027.

Both stages of the IMF Baltica have location permits (PSZW), environmental permits, connection agreements to the transmission network with the operator, and have also received the right to a contract for difference (CfD).

In 2022, the project partners expect to receive the environmental permit for the transmission infrastructure and will also work on obtaining building permits, which would further mature the project towards the final investment decision.

There are currently eleven areas available in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, under which PGE and Ørsted and other entities have applied for location permits (PSzW).

Among them, there are areas with different potential: from the smallest ones, with an area of 17 square kilometres, which PGE and Ørsted are currently applying for the expansion of the Baltica project, to the largest, covering an area of up to 150 square kilometres, PGE said.

PGE has so far submitted location permit applications for seven out of the eleven areas. Two of the applications were submitted jointly with Enea, one jointly with Tauron, and now one with Ørsted.

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