Opportunities and challenges for the offshore wind sector in Poland
Offshore wind energy offers Poland a tremendous opportunity to accelerate the energy transition and make a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Polish energy supply. The country has ambitious goals, but there are still several challenges that need to be addressed.
Nevertheless, the sector is emerging, and with the right investments and cooperation between the government, industry and international partners, Poland can develop into a leading player in offshore wind in the Baltic Sea. This also brings opportunities for Belgian companies.
Below we first share the most important insights we gained during the mission to Poland. Then we also delve deeper into the existing and future offshore wind farms in the country.
Ambitious energy transition
On 1 July 2020, the Polish government and the wind energy industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of offshore wind energy in Poland. This Memorandum lays the foundation for the growth of the offshore wind sector, which will play a key role in diversifying Poland’s energy production.
Currently, the country is still heavily dependent on coal. In 2016, 80% of electricity was generated from coal, but today this has dropped to 48%, which is still high. Most of this drop has been compensated by other fossil fuels.
Offshore wind is seen as a key technology for achieving the 2030 renewable energy targets. The cooperation between government and industry sends a strong signal to investors about the political support for this sector.
Poland has ambitious targets for offshore wind, aiming for an installed capacity of 5.9 GW by 2030 and 18 GW by 2040. The potential of the Polish part of the Baltic Sea is estimated at 33 GW, which would make Poland the largest offshore wind market in the Baltic Sea.
Source of economic growth
In addition to achieving a green energy transition, strengthening local industry is high on the agenda in Poland. The country aims to have Polish companies perform 20% of the work in the sector, both through private and state-owned companies. However, the participation of Polish companies is currently only 12-15%. In order to achieve the 20% target, the Polish government is investing heavily in building production facilities.
The offshore wind energy sector is expected to provide a significant boost to the Polish economy, creating thousands of new jobs and fostering strong industrial clusters. Coastal regions that are already active in the wind industry will continue to develop. The aim is to transform Polish ports such as Szczecin, Gdańsk and Gdynia into ‘renewable energy hubs’ for the storage, assembly, transport and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.
Building a supply chain
Poland aims to build strong partnerships between Polish and international companies to achieve its offshore wind ambitions. Several factors are taken into consideration when building the supply chain, with the integration of existing Polish companies playing a crucial role.
Poland has several ports strategically located near specific wind farms and competitive labour costs compared to the European average.
With the construction of the first wind farm, Poland is in an intensive learning and growth process. The Polish government is developing an industrialisation strategy for offshore wind in Poland. A study by CCE Energy Group identifies the following challenges:
- Lack of Polish Tier 1 companies: There are not enough domestic Tier 1 companies. This makes it difficult to use the full potential of lower suppliers and to build a robust supply chain.
- Confidence in stability and profitability: Developing a supply chain requires confidence in the stability and profitability of the sector. Uncertainty about the long-term profitability of offshore wind projects makes it difficult for companies to invest the appropriate resources and further expand their capacities.
- High barriers to entry for financing: Financing (and appropriate financial guarantees) of contracts is a major hurdle for Polish companies to join European supply chains.
Offshore wind farms in Poland
- Baltic Power
Baltic Power is the first Polish offshore wind farm that is in the construction phase. The first monopiles were recently installed.
The park is located 23 km north of the Polish coast and will have 76 wind turbines of 15 MW, which is good for a total capacity of 1.2 GW.
Baltic Power is a joint venture between ORLEN and Northland Power. Construction is expected to be fully completed in 2026.
- BC Wind
BC-Wind is one of the first offshore wind projects in Poland to successfully complete the preparatory phase. The project is currently in the tendering phase.
The park is located approximately 23 kilometres off the coast and covers two adjacent sites with a combined area of 90.94 km². The planned capacity is up to 500 MW.
BC-Wind is fully owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between ENGIE and EDP Renewables.
- Bałtyk 1, 2 en 3
The Bałtyk 1, 2 and 3 wind farms are being developed by Equinor and Polenergia with a planned capacity of 3GW.
The Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 projects will be implemented in the first phase. These offshore wind farms will be located between 22 and 37 km from the Polish coastline and will have a total capacity of 1,440 MW.
The first energy production is expected as early as 2027. The commercial phase is planned from 2028. The final investment decision will be taken this year, after which construction works can begin.
The Bałtyk 1 project will follow in the second phase. This offshore wind farm will be located approximately 80 km from the Polish coast and will have a capacity of 1,560 MW.
- Baltica 2
The Baltica 2 offshore wind farm is a joint venture between PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) and Ørsted, with a total capacity of 2.5 GW.
Baltica 2 will be located approximately 40 km off the Polish coast, near Ustka, and is expected to be fully operational in 2027.
Involvement of Belgian companies
Belgian companies play a major role in the development of offshore wind energy in Poland, with several important projects:
- DEME will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of both the inter-array cables and the export cables for the Baltic Power project;
- Smulders will supply 76 transition pieces for the Baltic Power project. They will produce the secondary steel at their Polish facility, while assembly and equipment will take place in Newcastle.
- A consortium of Jan De Nul Group and Hellenic Cables will be responsible for the design, production, transport and installation of four 220 kV HVAC export cables to connect the Bałtyk 2 and 3 offshore wind farms to the coast.
Next auction round
Poland plans to auction 12 GW of additional offshore wind capacity in the period 2025-2031. The volume for the auctions in 2025 and 2027 is set at 4 GW each, while 2 GW will be auctioned in 2029 and 2031. The maximum prices per MWh are set at PLN 485.71 for the closest areas and PLN 512.32 for the furthest locations.
The second round of the Polish offshore wind plans is an important step for the state-owned companies PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) and Orlen in the further development of Poland’s offshore wind capacity. Both companies have won significant concessions, which will enable them to further expand their role as leaders in the renewable energy sector.
Both state-owned companies rely on international partners to realise their ambitious offshore wind projects in Poland. They are specifically looking for international companies that can contribute to the technical, operational and logistical challenges that the development of offshore wind energy entails.
Companies with experience in the construction of wind farms, the installation of cables and the maintenance of offshore turbines are highly sought after. In addition, the partners are expected to work closely with local Polish companies, which offers opportunities for local employment and knowledge transfer.
Group visit with Blue Cluster
On Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March, the partners in the ELBE Eurocluster project organised a group business trip to Poland. A total of 26 representatives from companies in Belgium, Sweden, France, Norway and the Basque Country took part.
With this international delegation, we visited the island of Ostrów, where we were given a tour of Baltic Towers. Afterwards, we made a short visit to the port of Gdansk, before travelling on to the Power Connect Energy Summit in Gdansk.
Below you can find the most important insights gained from these visits.
Baltic Towers
Baltic Towers is a joint investment between the Spanish company GRI Renewable Industries and the Polish Industrial Development Agency. During the tour, we were given a detailed explanation of the possibilities of this impressive facility. The factory, which covers an area of 6.2 hectares, will be able to produce towers for turbines of 15 MW and more.
The hall is equipped with heavy lifting capacities, which allow for the production of elements of up to 500 tons, with lengths of up to 50 meters and diameters of 10 meters. This enables the production of towers for the latest generation of turbines. The capacity of the factory is large enough to produce more than 150 towers per year. This allows the factory to respond to the growing demand within the offshore wind energy industry.
Port of Gdansk
Works are currently underway at the Port of Gdańsk to build a new terminal which will serve as an installation port for offshore wind farms. Initially, the terminal will be used for the storage, pre-assembly and offshore installation of turbine components for the Baltica 2 project.
The planned area of the terminal is 21 hectares. The length of the 2 loading docks is as much as 800 metres and the depth of the basin at the berth is 17.5 metres. This will make it possible to receive installation and supply vessels for offshore terminals with a total length of up to 170 metres.
Power Connect Energy Summit
During the ELBE seminar at the Power Connect Energy Summit, we were given an interesting presentation on the roles of the various ports in Poland.
Both the larger ports (e.g. Gdansk, Gdynia, and Szczecin) and the smaller ports (e.g. Ustka, Łeba, and Władysławowo) play important and complementary roles in the development of the offshore wind energy sector in Poland. The choice of specific ports depends on their capacity, geographical location and the specific function they fulfil within the offshore wind supply chain.
Larger ports such as Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin are mainly suitable for the installation of large wind turbine components such as nacelles, towers and blades. This is due to their larger capacity, deeper waters and specialised infrastructure, which are essential for handling the large components.
Smaller ports such as Ustka, Łeba and Władysławowo play a crucial role in the storage of smaller components, operational and maintenance (O&M) support, and the transportation of materials to the offshore wind farms. These ports offer advantages such as flexibility, lower costs and strategic proximity to certain wind farms.
To make these smaller ports suitable for their role in the offshore wind energy sector, significant investments are being made. This includes the construction of new breakwaters, quays and infrastructure for the operation of CTV units, which are essential for supporting the operational phase of offshore wind farms.
About ELBE Eurocluster
The ELBE Alliance was established in 2016 to support the internationalisation and supply chain development of European offshore renewable energy clusters.
In 2022, the Alliance became an EU-funded Eurocluster supporting cooperation between offshore energy clusters from 8 countries: Spain, Norway, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the UK.
With around 1000 members, 12 test and demonstration sites and 72 technology developers in the field of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy, ELBE is one of the leading European clusters in the field of blue energy.
