Polenergia plans to start constructing the 600MW Baltic Środkowy III (Baltic Middle III) offshore wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea in 2019, with the commissioning of the wind farm planned for 2021 or 2022.
The Polish energy company has recently become the first operator in Poland to obtain an environmental permit for the construction of an offshore wind farm from the Regional Directorate of Environmental Protection (RDOŚ) in Gdansk.
The permit was granted on the basis of the report on the environmental impact and allows the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm with a maximum capacity of 1,200 MW, implemented in stages, with the first 600MW phase to be commissioned by the end of 2022.
The decision is a green light to start working on the technical design of Poland’s first wind farm in the Baltic Sea, Polenergia said.
120 wind turbines will be located 23km north off the coast. The capacity of a single turbine will be up to 5 MW, and its height will amount up to 275m.
“Polenergia as an energy group focuses on diversifying its activities in both areas of conventional energy and renewable energy. One pillar of the company’s development are the greatly promising wind farm projects in the Baltic Sea, which are characterized by high stability and fit into the energy of Poland. The issue of the first environmental decision for offshore wind farms in Poland is a critical milestone in the development of these projects. The total capacity of the planned farm is 1200 MW, which is 3 times higher than the capacity of onshore wind farm projects which have been suspended due to the distance limitations. We expect that this year both of our projects in the Baltic Sea will be issued environmental decisions “ – said Jacek Glowacki, who heads Polenergia.
Implementation of the Baltyk Srodkowy III project is expected to provide a boost to the Polish shipyards in Szczecin and Gdynia through the potential contracts for the construction of foundations and turbine towers for the wind farm.
Apart from the local shipyards, the ports in the region could also stand to benefit from the development of offshore wind. Pomeranian ports could in the near future become bases for construction companies and service companies that support offshore wind energy.