Polish Offshore Wind Farm ‘First In the World’ to Utilise Low-Emission Steel in Wind Turbines

January 16, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

The 1.2 GW Baltic Power offshore wind farm, developed by a joint venture between PKN Orlen and Northland Power in Poland, will comprise wind turbine tower sections made with low-emission steel manufactured by ArcelorMittal for the project’s wind turbine supplier Vestas. According to the Baltic Power joint venture, this is the first offshore wind farm in the world to utilise low-emission steel.

Vestas revealed tower sections made with low-emission steel would be installed in the Polish Baltic Sea as the wind turbine OEM partnered with ArcelorMittal. While not yet part of the company’s standard offering, low-emission steel tower sections will debut at Baltic Power, where 52 of the total 76 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines will have towers whose top sections will be manufactured using low-emission steel, according to the company.

“As the first offshore wind farm in the world to utilize low-emission steel, Baltic Power, a joint venture between ORLEN and Northland Power, is pioneering a sustainable future in the renewable energy sector,” said Jarosław Broda, CEO at Baltic Power. “The use of low-emission steel from Vestas and ArcelorMittal in our wind farm underscores our commitment to innovation and environmental stewardship. We are proud to lead the way in transforming Poland’s energy landscape as we progress towards completing the construction by 2026.”

“This is yet another initiative where Vestas continues to execute on its sustainability strategy which also includes addressing the materials [we] use to make wind turbines,” Vestas said in a press release issued on 16 January, a little less than a year after the company made headlines with the newly discovered chemical process that allows for existing wind turbine blades to be recycled.

The tower sections at Baltic Power will be made of ArcelorMittal’s XCarb recycled and renewably produced heavy plate steel.

The company will produce steel slabs at its steel mill Industeel Charleroi in Belgium, using 100 per cent steel scrap which is melted in an electric arc furnace fully powered by wind energy. The steel slabs will then be transformed into heavy plates used to fabricate wind turbine towers at ArcelorMittal’s heavy plate mill in Gijon, Spain.

The low-emission heavy plate steel has an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), certified by an independent party, detailing the complete environmental footprint of the product, and allowing easier comparison between products, Vestas says.

The company also noted that these steel plates are initially suitable for the entire tower of onshore wind turbines and the top section of offshore wind turbine towers.

Using this low-emission steel in the top two sections of an offshore turbine tower would translate to approximately 25 per cent emission reduction, compared to a tower made from steel made via a conventional steelmaking route. For an entire onshore tower, the CO2 reduction is at least 52 per cent, according to Vestas.

“This partnership sends a strong message that it is possible today, to start building the renewable energy infrastructure needed in Europe, with low carbon-emissions steel made with a European supply chain. Having a strong partnership throughout the supply chain is vital to achieve this, so we would like to thank Vestas and Baltic Power for their vision in using XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel in this important offshore wind project,” said Laurent Plasman, CMO Industry, ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.

“With stronger public policy support for the use of low carbon-emissions steel in the building of renewables infrastructure, this project could be the first of many to provide wind energy for homes and industry across Europe.”

The 1,140 MW Baltic Power offshore wind farm will be built approximately 22 kilometres off the Polish coast near Plaża Wydmy Lubiatowskie.

Delivery of the Vestas wind turbines is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, with commissioning expected in 2026.

Baltic Power is scheduled to enter commercial operation in the latter half of 2026. Once operational, the offshore wind farm will provide clean energy to over 1.5 million Polish households.