Ports in Ustka and Łeba as service centres for offshore wind farms
Ustka and Łeba are the two ports on the central coast where service facilities for offshore wind farms are to be built. Provisions on port redevelopment appeared in the National Reconstruction Plan passed by the Polish Parliament on Wednesday.
About EUR 430 million have been allocated for each of the ports. Gdynia will also benefit from the plan, where the construction of an installation port is planned.
According to the government’s projects, in the coming years offshore wind farms will be built on the Słupsk shoal, some 30 nautical miles from the shore. Ultimately, more than 300 turbines will be built there.
In the first project, 100 turbines over 200 metres high will be erected north of Łeba. The total power generated by the wind turbines is expected to reach 3000 megawatts, which will make it possible to power over 2 million households.
In order to efficiently manage the farms, service ports are needed, from which it will be possible to quickly and safely get to the site and carry out the necessary repairs and maintenance. The best locations for such activities are Ustka and Łeba. That is why both ports have already been included in the National Reconstruction Plan.
The offshore wind energy sector represents an opportunity for the economic development of Poland, including the construction and development of the so-called local content, the key element of which is the construction of port infrastructure for the construction and subsequent operation of offshore wind farms, – says the National Reconstruction Plan.
In order to properly handle and ensure the safety of offshore wind farms, the implementation of the investment includes:
- construction of a deepwater installation terminal in the offshore Port of Gdynia, with an area of approximately 30 ha, which will enable the simultaneous handling of 2 installation units;
- reconstruction of ports on the Central Coast and their access from the sea (including breakwaters) to enable the use of service terminals intended for handling offshore wind turbine service units; the investments include ports in Łeba and Ustka.
The investments will be carried out by the Port of Gdynia Authority SA and the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia respectively. Due to geographic conditions regarding the location of sea ports in relation to the area where the offshore wind farms will be built and regulations governing the construction and operation of sea ports, the circle of beneficiaries is limited only to the above mentioned entities.
In accordance with the provisions, work on the reconstruction of ports is to begin already in 2021 and end in 2026. The unit cost is EUR 437 million. Both ports have already prepared preliminary expansion plans.
rel. PortalMorski.pl
