Poland’s Largest Offshore Wind Project Readies for 2025 Auction

April 10, 2024, by Adnan Durakovic

Equinor and Polenergia have applied for environmental approval for the connection infrastructure of the Bałtyk I offshore wind farm as the project is being prepared for auction in Poland in 2025.

The Bałtyk I offshore wind farm is one of three projects jointly developed by Equinor and Polenergia in the Polish Baltic Sea. Bałtyk I, Bałtyk II and Baałtyk III will have a combined capacity of up to 3 GW, allowing more than four million Polish households to be supplied with green energy. The 1,560 MW Bałtyk I is the largest wind farm under construction in the Baltic Sea.

According to the developers, Bałtyk I is also the most advanced offshore wind farm project in the Baltic Sea, with the project expected to benefit from the best solutions developed in the construction of the earlier projects, Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III. This is expected to significantly streamline the investment process.

The Bałtyk I offshore wind farm will be located about 80 kilometres from the coastline. Electricity from the project will flow via cables ashore to a connection point at the Polish Power Grid Krzemienica substation under construction in the Redzikowo municipality. A land connection infrastructure corridor of up to 20 kilometres will run underground to preserve tourism and scenic values and to minimise impacts on existing land use.

The planned onshore power exit will be implemented partially in the immediate vicinity of the corridor designated for the connection infrastructure of the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms. One landfall location using trenchless technology is planned for all three wind farms. To date, Bałtyk I has obtained a permit to lay and maintain cables in the offshore section and a grid connection agreement with the transmission system operator.

”A common corridor section for the cable bringing power out of all three Bałtyk projects will significantly shorten the investment process, make it easier and cheaper,” Jerzy Zan, CEO of Polenergia, said.

”The construction of the Bałtyk I wind farm will benefit from the best practices developed in the construction of the earlier projects, Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III. This applies not only to the common infrastructure corridor, but also to the supply chain being built, the acquisition and training of future personnel, or the relations with local residents and local administration, which are very important to us. Investment continuity will allow a smooth transition between the two phases of offshore energy development in our country.”

HVDC Connection

The total distance from the connection point and the total planned capacity justifies the use of the first offshore wind farm power derivation using direct current (HVDC) technology. This technology has already been installed at the largest offshore wind farm in the world – Dogger Bank in the UK, where the first power was fed into the grid in 2023. Equinor is one of the shareholders in this project and will be the operator in its operational phase. The experience gained from the UK will be transferred to Poland. An application to change the connection conditions for Baltic I to direct current technology has already been submitted to the Polish Power Grid.

”We have the highest quality technologies and solutions that we implement in our projects. Bałtyk II and III will be among the first offshore wind farms in Poland, and they are scheduled to come online in 2027. Bałtyk I is the most advanced project of the second phase, scheduled for auction in 2025. The green energy that will flow from all three offshore wind farms will provide stable renewable energy for more than 4 million households,” said Jerzy Michał Kołodziejczyk, Country Manager of Equinor in Poland.

The Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms, due to come online in 2027, will have a capacity of 1440 MW. The projects already have contracted major suppliers of key components. Siemens Gamesa has been appointed as the turbine supplier, SIF Netherlands B.V. as the foundation supplier, and Hitachi Energy as the electrical systems infrastructure supplier.

Equinor and Polenergia also already have secured contracts for the design, manufacture, supply and installation of internal cables and export cables for both projects.

The internal cables will be supplied and installed by Seaway7. In turn, the contract for marine export cables was awarded to an international consortium formed by Jan de Nul and Hellenic Cables. The investment partners also signed an agreement with DNV, which will take care of certification of the offshore parts of the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III wind farms.

This year, construction work will begin on O&M base in Łeba, which, as a logistics and operations centre, will be responsible for the safe and proper operation of offshore wind farms for 30 years of their operation. The base will employ about 100 people. All three projects are expected to generate up to 10,000 jobs.