PKN Orlen hands in environmental report for offshore wind project

Polish energy company PKN Orlen has submitted an environmental report for its offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea.

PKN Orlen, through its subsidiary Baltic Power, holds a license to build wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea with a maximum total capacity of up to 1,200 MW.

The proposed area covers approximately 131 km2 and is located some 23 kilometres off Choczewo and Łeba.

The environmental report follows 17 months of research carried out across an area of 323 km2 using a specialized plane and eighteen vessels.

Among other things, the geological structure of the seabed and chemical properties of the waters were analyzed, and the flora and fauna in the area of ​​the planned investment were inventoried.

The research report was submitted to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk and it will be the basis for issuing the Decision on Environmental Conditions for the investment.

Completion of this stage opens the way to obtaining a building permit and allows for the creation of a detailed schedule and technical conditions of the investment, PKN Orlen said.

As part of geophysical surveys started in October 2019, 72 core samples were collected up to a depth of several meters below the seabed. On the basis of the collected data, it will be possible to create a preliminary plan for the arrangement of turbines and to initially determine the optimal type and size of their supporting structures.

Using a remotely controlled underwater vehicle, almost 100 underwater objects were checked, such as cable lines, boulders, characteristic geological formations or shipwrecks lying on the bottom, which may affect the final placement of the turbines.

Baltic Power has secured the grid connection for the wind farm and is in the process of finding an industry partner and a technical advisor to implement the investment.