Ørsted to seek a fleet for wind farms in the Baltic

Ørsted is the first Polish offshore wind sector player to acquire the installation vessels and cable layers needed to build offshore wind farms.

As a Western European trade media report, Ørsted, a partner of PGE, intends to publish an announcement in the coming weeks on its interest in acquiring vessels to install wind turbines for the Baltica 3 and Baltica 2 projects in the Polish maritime zone.

Ørsted is expected to use the Achilles Utilities Nordics and Central Europe (UNCE) qualification system to place the order. The competitive bidding or tender will be announced in the last week of January or the first week of February.

We will know whether the ships in question are to come from the existing fleet or to be dedicated ones built specifically for projects in Polish waters after the publication of the invitation to tender. In practice, these will most likely turn out to be vessels in operation, currently on order or under construction, and not built specifically for a Polish project.

The Baltica 3 wind farm is to have an installed capacity of 1045 MW and is scheduled for commissioning in 2027, with the closing of financing for this investment planned for 2023. The Baltica 2 wind farm, with an installed capacity of 1498 MW, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028, with the closing of financing for this investment planned for 2024.

Ørsted develops both projects in a joint venture with the Polish company PGE. Both wind farms were awarded Contracts for Difference (CfD) in the first round, reserved for the most advanced projects, in April 2021.

The Danish operator is also expected to shortly issue tenders for the transport and installation of foundations and offshore substations for both projects, as well as the installation of export cables and wires between the turbines.

source: PortalMorski.pl