Baltic Power, a joint venture between Poland’s Orlen Group and Canada’s Northland Power, has selected the Polish company ERBUD as the main contractor for the construction of an offshore wind farm operations and maintenance base in the Port of Łeba.
The construction of the base is scheduled to start later this year and be completed by 2025.
ERBUD will be responsible for the preparation of the project site, hydraulic works related to the alteration of the quayside, and the construction of the complex of base buildings together with their infrastructure.
Approximately 2–4 crew transfer vessels will be permanently stationed at the base. Each of them may take up to 24 technicians with the necessary equipment on board at a time. The base, operating 365 days a year, will employ up to 50 persons responsible for the maintenance and operation of the offshore wind farm.
For the implementation of the project, ERBUD plans to employ approximately 100 employees. More than 20 suppliers and subcontractors whose services will be used by ERBUD are entities registered in Poland, Baltic Power said.
Baltic Power has also selected the company responsible for providing the contract engineer service. The company that will supervise the entire investment process guaranteeing its timely implementation will be Antea Poland. The company is part of an international consortium specializing in comprehensive supervision projects, among others in the fields of power sector, infrastructure, and water management.
”Poland faces the need for transformation of its energy generation sources, and the ORLEN Group is an active participants in this process,” said Daniel Obajtek , President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.
”Access to cheap green energy is one of the basic factors for the competitiveness of the economy and the opportunity of stable growth over the coming decades. Therefore, we consistently build a strong multi-utility group able to invest in forward-looking areas of modern power sector, which will ensure security of energy supply for consumers, development of the potential of Polish companies and increase in value for PKN ORLEN shareholders.”
The 1.2 GW Baltic Power wind farm will consist of 76 wind turbines, each with a height of over 200 metres. The farm will occupy an area of over 130 square kilometres, approximately 23 kilometres north of the Baltic Sea coastline, near Łeba and Choczewo.
The O&M teams will be able to reach the wind farm from the base in around 40 minutes, according to Baltic Power.
Back in 2022, Baltic Power secured contracts for the production, transport, and installation of all key components necessary for the implementation of the project. At the beginning of 2023, Baltic Power obtained the first required building permits for the onshore part of the project. This is the first such decision issued for offshore wind projects implemented in Poland.
Obtaining the onshore permit is one of the milestones necessary for the final investment decision and commencement of the construction in 2024.