Orlen Group has secured the environmental permit for its 1 GW Baltic East offshore wind farm in Poland from the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk.
This milestone brings the project closer to participation in the first Polish offshore wind auction, scheduled for December this year, according to the developer.
“During this auction, the Energy Regulatory Office will select offshore wind farm projects with a total capacity of up to 4 GW, which will receive support in the form of a contract for difference. This marks a crucial stage for Baltic East, which is entering a decisive phase of preparation – from finalizing permits to making the final investment decision and commencing construction,” said Janusz Bil , President of the Management Board of ORLEN Neptun.
The decision covers turbines, foundations, substations, and internal cables. The connection infrastructure is subject to a separate environmental procedure.
The report was preceded by years of research and analysis, performed primarily by Polish companies, including fauna and flora studies, migration route monitoring, environmental parameter assessments, underwater noise modeling, water and sediment quality analyses, as well as the wind farm’s impact on the Natura 2000 area and the cumulative impact of all projects in the area.
Baltic East is the second offshore wind farm being developed by the Orlen Group. The project will cover an area of 110 square kilometres, approximately 22.5 kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast, adjacent to the Baltic Power wind farm currently under construction.
Another project that recently secured environmental approval is the 900 MW Baltica 1 offshore wind farm, developed by PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE).