Five of the 76 planned Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines have been installed at Baltic Power, the first Polish offshore wind farm, jointly developed by Orlen and Canada’s Northland Power.
The installation of each turbine is preceded by the deployment of monopile foundations and transition pieces, a stage of the project that is now nearing its halfway point, according to Orlen.
Van Oord’s Svanen is responsible for the installation of monopiles, which will be delivered by Steelwind Nordenham. Belgium-based Smulders will supply the transition pieces (TPs).
Next, work will begin on laying subsea inter-array and export cables, followed by the installation of offshore substations in the autumn. The steel structures for the substations were manufactured in shipyards located in Gdynia and Gdańsk.
Key components, including turbine nacelles, subsea cables, offshore substation foundations, and foundation elements, have been manufactured at facilities in Szczecin , Bydgoszcz, the Tri-City area, Żary, and Niemodlin.
“We began offshore construction work earlier this year, and today we can already see the results. More turbines are rising in the Baltic Sea, and starting next year they will supply clean electricity to Polish households and industry. This is just one of many ORLEN investments under the country’s largest energy transition programme, worth up to PLN 380 billion,” said Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN .
In May, Baltic Power launched its operations and maintenance (O&M) base in Łeba, a facility that will support the wind farm throughout its expected 30-year operational life. The base is currently supporting the offshore installation campaign and serves as the home of the Marine Coordination Centre.
Meanwhile, construction is underway in Choczewo on the project’s onshore infrastructure, including a substation that will soon connect Baltic Power to the national grid.
The 1.2 GW offshore wind farm is scheduled to be commissioned in 2026.
In addition to Baltic Power, Orlen is preparing to develop additional offshore wind projects in the partnership format, with a combined capacity of around 5.5 GW. One of them, Baltic East, is being prepared for Poland’s December auction, said the company.
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