PGE and Ørsted have made the final investment decision for the Baltica 2 project
There is a green light for the construction of what is currently the largest RES project in Poland in terms of generating capacity. The FID, or final investment decision, allows the official transition from the planning phase of the offshore wind farm to its construction phase. Construction of the offshore part is scheduled to begin later this year.
– The year 2025 will be a breakthrough year for the Polish economy and a breakthrough year for major investments, including those in the energy sector. Energy will provide us with security and an impulse for economic development. This great investment, one of the largest in Poland’s history, is part of a huge project that will see 18 GW of offshore wind power built by 2040. Poland can be a leader of growth, a leader of European optimism and investment momentum. Thanks to cheap and clean energy from offshore wind farms Poland will be competitive to all economies in the world and this is a message that everyone should hear, because it is a good message for every energy consumer in Poland,’ said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. – I am glad about this cooperation with the Danish side, which, in my opinion, is a model on the European scale and I am convinced that the whole Europe will be able to look at it with envy, and we can be proud of it,’ Prime Minister Tusk added.
– The Baltica 2 offshore wind farm, the largest such project currently underway in the Baltic Sea, will allow Poland to diversify its electricity production. It will increase energy security and provide clean and cheaper energy. This investment is a significant step in Poland’s energy transition and is a major impulse for economic development, which can attract new investment to the entire Polish economy and help create new jobs – said Dariusz Marzec, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
– The development of offshore wind energy is a key element of Poland’s energy transformation, which will strengthen the country’s energy security. We are very proud that despite the macroeconomic challenges, together with our partner PGE we have reached this important milestone, combining the competences of Poland’s largest electricity producer with Ørsted’s 30 years of experience as a world leader in offshore wind energy development. The announcement of the final investment decision means that we are ready to build Baltica 2, the flagship offshore wind project in Poland, which will meet the needs of approximately 2.5 million Polish households and deliver the first energy in 2027,’ said Agata Staniewska-Bolesta, managing director of Ørsted Offshore Poland.
– Financing the energy transition is one of the key tasks of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The funds from the National Reconstruction Plan, from which our bank provides loans for specific projects, play a not insignificant role in this process. We are pleased that the Polish Energy Group is joining the group of beneficiaries with its ambitious investment, the Baltica 2 wind farm. PGE will receive approx. PLN 5.5 billion, in addition to which our bank has independently granted it own account loans totalling approximately PLN 530 million. In this project, as a Polish development bank, we are pursuing a mission to increase Poland’s energy security, using European Union funds,’ said Mirosław Czekaj, President of the Management Board of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
Construction work at sea is scheduled to begin in 2025 and will involve removing boulders from the seabed. In 2026, the installation of foundations, export cables and offshore transformer stations will begin. These stages will be followed by the installation of the interconnection cables between the turbine foundations and the offshore transformer stations. The installation of the wind turbines themselves is planned for 2027. In parallel, comprehensive testing of all cables and electrical components will take place, followed by the commissioning of the entire infrastructure. This will make it possible to deliver the first green energy from our offshore wind farm to the Polish power system as early as 2027.
With 107 turbines with a total capacity of 1.5 GW, the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm will be able to provide green energy to more than 2.5 million homes in Poland, significantly contributing to the transformation of the Polish energy industry. PGE and Ørsted have already started building the onshore connection infrastructure. They have also contracted all the necessary components to start the construction of Baltica 2 offshore and have signed all the contracts for the installations – foundations, cables, turbines and offshore transformer stations. The partners have all the necessary construction permits. For the installation of the turbines, they have signed a lease agreement for port land in Gdansk. A PGE operations and maintenance base will be established in Ustka, which will be used during the operation phase of the wind farm.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
