RWE with long-term lease of land in Ustka

RWE and the Ustka Maritime Port Authority have signed a land lease agreement for the construction of an operations and maintenance base for the F.E.W Baltic II offshore wind farm. The base will operate for at least 30 years, being one of the key elements in the implementation of the project and the subsequent operation of the planned farm.

‘Securing the land for the operations and maintenance base is another important step in the realisation of our first offshore wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. An administration and control building that meets the requirements of the international BREEAM sustainable building certification standard will be built at the port. Its construction will start after 2025. We plan to use the service base for monitoring and ongoing maintenance of our F.E.W. Baltic II wind farm. Thanks to the establishment of the base at the port of Ustka, RWE will be able to create up to 50 new jobs for the local community,’ says Lukas Prietz, Project Director of the F.E.W. Baltic II wind farm at RWE.

Maciej Karaś, President of the Ustka Sea Port Authority, points out that the signing of the contract with RWE is a key milestone in the long-standing cooperation that began in 2018.

‘At that time, the concept of offshore wind farms was just in its infancy and, unwillingly, we became leaders in this still nascent industry. I am all the more pleased that our long-term efforts are bearing fruit, confirming the rightness of the strategy chosen by the City of Ustka, which I have come to implement. From my point of view, it is equally important to be able to cooperate with a partner with such great competence and experience in the OWF industry,‘ emphasises President Maciej Karaś’.

The host of the city spoke about the strategic role of Ustka in the construction of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.

‘It is with great satisfaction that I see how Ustka has actively joined the development of the new offshore wind energy industry. We are one of the most important ports for energy companies, and I am convinced that this will benefit our city. I also hope that this will be another argument for the development of the harbour in Ustka – for this we need its long-awaited expansion. I would like to thank the partners from RWE for their cooperation to date and the experience we are gaining thanks to them – says Jacek Maniszewski, Mayor of the City of Ustka.’

RWE will locate the operations and service facilities for the F.E.W. Baltic II project at the Western quay of the port in Ustka. The main rationale for choosing Ustka is the extensive harbour infrastructure, the ability to carry out repairs to CTV (crew transfer vessel) units for crew transport, as well as the ability to retrieve fuel for current needs and access to welfare facilities for employees.

The proximity of the port to the F.E.W. Baltic II farm is also key to the choice of this location. The 350 MW RWE project is being built in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea in an area of approximately 41 km2, about 50 km from the coast, north of Ustka.

The F.E.W. Baltic II project is being implemented according to schedule and commissioning of the farm is planned for the end of this decade. The F.E.W. Baltic II wind farm is at an advanced stage of preparatory work, awaiting further necessary decisions and administrative permits.

RWE is leading the way into the world of green energy. With its Growing Green investment and development strategy, RWE is making a significant contribution to the success of the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the energy system. The company has around 20,000 employees in nearly 30 countries worldwide. RWE is already one of the leading companies in the field of renewable energy. Between 2024 and 2030, RWE will invest €55 billion worldwide in offshore and onshore wind, solar, batteries, flexible power generation and hydrogen projects. By the end of the decade, the company’s green portfolio will have grown to more than 65 gigawatts of generation capacity, which will be perfectly complemented by global energy trading. RWE is decarbonising its operations in line with a ‘below 1.5 degrees Celsius’ emissions reduction path and will phase out coal completely by 2030. Zero net emissions will be achieved by the company by 2040. This will be fully in line with the company’s goal, which is encapsulated in the slogan: ‘Our energy for sustainable living’.

Source: PortalMorski.pl