The Baltyk offshore wind farms will be developed in the Baltic Sea, offshore Poland. The development will include three wind farms, namely Baltyk I, Baltyk II and Baltyk III, with a combined installed capacity of 3GW.
Norwegian energy company Equinor will develop the wind farms jointly with Polenergia, an electric services provider based in Poland.
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Baltyk I will have a wind power generation capacity of up to 1.56GW, while Baltyk II and Baltyk III are expected to have a combined capacity of 1.44GW, which will be enough to power two million households in Poland.
The partners are expected to make the final investment decision (FID) on the Baltyk II and Baltyk III projects in 2024, subject to the receipt of the necessary permits. The construction of the two projects is expected to start in early 2024, while first power is anticipated to be fed to the grid in 2027. The Baltyk I project is anticipated to be commissioned in 2029.
Baltyk offshore wind farms location
The Baltyk I project will be located on the border of Poland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea, 81km off the coast of the town of Leba in the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The Baltyk II and Baltyk III wind farms will be developed in the south-western part of the Baltic Sea and within Poland’s EEZ.
Baltyk wind power projects background
Equinor and Polenergia partnered to develop the Baltyk II and III wind farms in 2018, with each company holding 50% interest in the projects. Equinor acquired 50% interest in the Baltyk I license from Polenergia in December 2019. The wind farms are currently in the early phase of implementation.
The two partners launched a one-year marine environment research programme to conduct the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Baltyk I in December 2020.
The work completed on the Baltyk II and III projects includes preliminary geological surveys of the seabed and a two-year wind measurement programme using the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) remote sensing system.
Equinor acquired a site at the port of Leba for the construction of the operations and maintenance (O&M) base for the Baltyk II and III projects. To be built, owned and operated by Equinor, the O&M base will have an office, warehouse and transportation facilities.
Baltyk projects development details
Baltyk I holds a valid location permit in the Lawica Srodkowa area where it will occupy an area of 128.5km². The project will be developed at a water depth ranging between 25m and 35m.
The Baltyk II and III projects will together cover approximately 240km², located between 22km and 37km away from the coast of Poland, at a water depth ranging from 25m to 40m.
Baltyk II and Baltyk III turbine details
The Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III wind farms will feature SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa. Each direct drive turbine will have a power generation capacity of 14MW.
Siemens Gamesa will manufacture the turbines using its patented IntegralBlade® technology.
With a rotor diameter of 236m and a blade length of 115m, each turbine will have a swept area of 43,500m² (468,230ft²).
Power evacuation
The energy generated from the wind farms will be supplied to the National Power System (KSE) at the existing Slupsk-Wierzbiecino substation under grid connection agreements signed with Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne, the Polish transmission system operator.
Financial aid for the projects
In May 2021, the Baltyk II and III offshore wind farms were included under the first phase of Poland’s ambitious plan to develop 5.9GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. The two projects received the contracts for difference (CfD) by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) in the same month.
The CfD scheme aims to support the development of offshore wind projects in the country.
The CfDs were awarded at a price of approximately zl319.6 ($84.5) per MWh for up to 25 years, subject to final approval from regulatory authorities of Poland and the European Commission.
Contractors involved
Siemens Gamesa was selected as a preferred supplier of wind turbines for the Baltyk II and Baltyk III wind farms in February 2022.
Hitachi Energy secured contracts to supply electrical systems infrastructure and STATCOM power quality solutions for the Baltyk II and Baltyk III projects in December 2022.
RPS Group, an environmental consulting company based in the UK, deployed floating LiDAR buoys for measuring wind resource data above the sea surface for the Baltyk I project in April 2022.
Biuro Projektów Budownictwa Morskiego Projmors, an offshore design consulting company based in Poland, was selected as an advisor for securing building permits for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III projects in September 2021.
Polish marine survey company Mewo was engaged to conduct the EIA of the Baltyk I project.
Global research company DHI was contracted by Polenergia to serve as a consulting company for the EIA process of the Baltyk III project in 2015. It conducted environmental research on hydrographics, marine mammals, background noise and migrating birds.
