PGE, Ørsted Gather Tier 1 Offshore Contractors for 1.5 GW Baltica 2

October 31, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The PGE and Ørsted joint venture has signed an agreement with German-based Steelwind Nordenham for the supply of foundations for Baltica 2, which is the first stage of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm in the Polish Baltic Sea.

Under the contract, Steelwind Nordenham will deliver 34 monopile foundations with the production expected to start in the second half of 2025.

Baltica 2 will consist of 107 wind turbines and four offshore substations. Earlier, PGE and Ørsted had signed a contract for 77 monopiles for turbines and offshore substations with Navantia and Windar consortium.

The production of monopiles for the project, by Navantia and Windar, is expected to begin next year. Independently of the supply contract for Baltica 2, Windar plans to build a facility that will be manufacturing towers in Szczecin, in northwestern Poland, which is expected to be ready in 2026.

The contract with Steelwind Nordenham is the last contract relating to key components for the offshore part of Baltica 2, closing the so-called Tier 1 level of the investment.

“The bidding process for all key components for Baltica 2 took place in 2022 and early 2023, a time of unprecedented macroeconomic challenges due to the war in Ukraine, supply chain problems, high inflation, and rising interest rates. Despite these challenges, we were able to finalize all Tier 1 contracts in the offshore scope,” said Agata Staniewska, Managing Director of Ørsted Offshore Poland.

“We are also very pleased that already contracted suppliers are declaring their willingness to cooperate with Polish sub-suppliers, which clearly resonated during the Suppliers’ Day organized jointly with PGE in early October. This is an important impulse to create new industries in our country.”

In April, the developers signed a contract with Siemens Gamesa for the supply of 107 14 MW wind turbines for the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm.

A service and warranty agreement was also signed, which concerns the provision of maintenance services for the offshore wind turbines for a period of five years from commissioning, including scheduled inspections, repairs, delivery of maintenance, remote supervision, and other related activities.

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Semco Maritime and PTSC Mechanical & Construction (PTSC M&C) will be responsible for the design, manufacturing, and commissioning of the offshore substations while Orient Cable (NBO) will be delivering 170 kilometres of 66 kV subsea array cables that will be connecting the wind turbines to the offshore substations.

Four 375 MW substations – each equipped with two transformers – will collect power generated by wind turbines, transform it, and export it to land.

The marine export cables will be delivered by ZTT Submarine Cable & System and Hellenic Cables.

In September, Boskalis was awarded a contract for the transportation and installation of export and array cables for the 1.5 GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm.

In addition to the laying of the export and array cables, Boskalis will carry out seabed preparation activities including the levelling of the seabed, pre-trenching, and the removal of boulders.

“This investment of 1.5 GW capacity is the biggest energy project to date based on renewables, and we are talking about the first stage only. The entire Baltica Offshore Wind Farm of 2.5 GW capacity will be ready by the end of this decade,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

“We are also witnessing the rising interest of Polish companies that want to contribute to this project, which was also proven by high turnout at the Suppliers Day organized in October by PGE and Ørsted.”