The Baltic Power offshore wind farm is proposed to be developed in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland. Baltic Power, a subsidiary of PKN Orlen, holds the license to build the project.
The wind farm development is being implemented by a joint venture between Orlen and Northland Power, a Canadian green power development company. In January 2021, the project partners signed a partnership agreement for the preparation, construction, and operation of the Baltic Power offshore wind farm. The agreement is covered by a 25-year support system and will be valid for 35 years.
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Under the partnership agreement, Northland Power will acquire a 49% stake in the project and the company plans to invest approximately PLN290m (£56.85m) in the development of the Baltic Power offshore wind farm. The remaining 51% stake in the project will be held by Orlen.
The construction is expected to commence in 2023 with commissioning expected by 2026. The project will generate sufficient power to supply up to one million households, once operational.
Project location and details
The proposed 1.2GW Baltic Power offshore wind farm project will be located approximately 23km north of the Baltic Sea shoreline off the coast of Łeba and Choczewo, Poland. The project forms a part of the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea.
The project will encompass an area of approximately 131km² where up to 100 wind turbines will be installed. Each turbine will have a height of approximately 270m.
Baltic Power offshore wind farm development
Baltic Power announced plans to build the offshore wind power project in March 2018 and initiated comprehensive research on the project area in October 2018. A tender for the preparation of a preliminary technical concept was issued in the same year.
The Polish Ministry of Environment approved the preliminary geotechnical work, which involved seabed drilling within the licence area. A geotechnical survey of the seabed commenced in October 2019, paving the way for the preparation of a preliminary technical design of the wind farm. An environmental impact assessment report was submitted to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk in July 2020, following the completion of comprehensive research in February 2020.
The onshore geological surveys for the connection route to the offshore wind farm commenced in November 2020. The first stage of the work involved geophysical tests followed by drilling of boreholes to analyse the geotechnical parameters.
Power transmission
The power generated by the Baltic Power offshore wind farm will be transmitted via underground cables from the offshore section and onshore section.
The wind farm will be connected to an onshore power station, which will be constructed in the community of Choczewo for the distribution of power to the national grid.
In January 2021, a grid connection agreement was signed between Baltic Power with Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE), the state-owned power transmission system operator in Poland. The company will also be responsible for the operation of the power station to be constructed at Choczewo.
Contractors involved
In November 2020, Baltic Power engaged Enprom to begin work on the preparation of the cable connection route. The contract covers the design for both offshore and onshore sections and obtaining a building permit for the necessary infrastructure.
In September 2020, the contract for the preliminary technical and construction design of the wind farm was awarded to Offshore Design Engineering, an international technical service provider based in London.
DORIS Group, through its fully owned subsidiary ODE, was engaged to undertake the initial technical design and building permit design for the Baltic Power offshore wind farm.
