PGE Group chooses the port of Ustka as a service centre for offshore wind projects
An operations and service base for PGE Group’s offshore wind farms and a Centre of Competence for Offshore Wind Energy will be established in the Port of Ustka. PGE Baltica, which implements the PGE Group’s offshore programme, has presented plans for the development of port land for offshore projects.
– The decision to establish our future operations and maintenance base in Ustka is an important step in the implementation of the PGE Group’s offshore wind energy projects. Our investment will not only change the face of the port. We are convinced that it will also be an impulse for the development of the entire region and the creation of new jobs,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
Offshore wind farms require constant monitoring and maintenance. A service centre located nearby and with the necessary infrastructure and logistics facilities is a key element of any offshore investment.
– Building an operations and maintenance base in Ustka is the most optimal solution for us. Thanks to the good navigational and technical conditions of the harbour, the appropriate depth of both the approach and the harbour channel, service units will be able to sail from here to the area of offshore wind farms without hindrance. The onshore facilities provided by the location in Ustka, a well-connected city with accommodation facilities and open to participation in the offshore revolution, are also of significance, added the PGE Baltica CEO.
Specialists working in the service base on a continuous basis – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – will monitor the operation of offshore wind farms and the condition of equipment located offshore and onshore. The base will provide technical and storage facilities for the service crews. It will include a warehouse for spare parts and tools necessary for servicing offshore wind farms, parking areas for service units, as well as office and welfare facilities. The base will also coordinate emergency and routine maintenance work.
A Centre of Competence for Offshore Wind Energy will also be established within the port of Ustka. In it, future specialists will acquire qualifications and competencies to work on infrastructure maintenance and offshore wind power development. The Competence Centre will also test and implement new innovative technologies related to offshore wind energy.
The operations and maintenance base will be built by PGE Baltica. The site on which it will be built is located between Bohaterów Westerplatte Street (on its eastern side) and the banks of the Slupia River. The company has already started developing the most optimal concept for the development of the site. The redevelopment of the wharf has been planned in such a way as to allow the technical staff to use part of the site earlier, while offshore wind farms are still under construction. According to the schedule, the first construction work will start in 2024. The service centre will begin operations in 2026.
The PGE Group is currently developing three offshore wind farm projects in the Baltic Sea. Two of them are the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 offshore wind farms, which comprise the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm with a total capacity of 2.5 GW. PGE is implementing this project together with Danish partner Ørsted. Both phases of the Baltica offshore wind farm have location decisions, environmental decisions, and transmission grid connection agreements with the operator, and have been granted the right to a Contract for Difference (CfD). They will start supplying electricity to Polish households later this decade.
In parallel, PGE is preparing for the construction of a third project – the Baltica 1 offshore power plant. The installation is scheduled to be commissioned after 2030 and will have a capacity of around 0.9 GW. PGE Baltica, the company responsible for the PGE Group’s Offshore Programme, started wind measurement studies for this project in May 2022. Baltica 1 already has a location decision and a connection agreement. By implementing further offshore wind farm projects, PGE intends to fulfil the strategic goal of achieving at least 6.5 GW of offshore generation capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040. PGE Group’s offshore programme is implemented by PGE Baltica.
photos: PGE
