Environmental surveys start on Baltica 1 offshore wind farm

Poland’s PGE Baltica, a PGE Group company, has entered the stage of environmental surveys for the Baltica 1 offshore wind farm located approximately 80 kilometres from the Polish Baltic coast.

The research will be carried out by a consortium of the Gdynia Maritime University and MEWO S.A., which will also prepare an environmental report and will be responsible for obtaining an environmental permit for the Baltica 1 project issued by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk.

This process is part of the further stages of the investment, including preparation of project documentation and obtaining a building permit.

”The first electricity from the Baltica 1 offshore wind farm will flow at the beginning of next decade,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

”Before this happens, however, we will conduct a series of detailed surveys and analitical studies that will allow us to properly prepare the project and obtain the necessary administrative decisions. Earlier, in May this year, we started a two-year wind measurement campaign for the Baltica 1 project, and now we are starting environmental surveys.”

The research will also provide answers to questions about potential risks and possible limitations, which must be taken into account when designing and building an offshore wind farm, the developer said.

Thanks to survey results, certain solutions will be created that will allow for avoiding the impact on environmentally valuable areas and the economic environment. This approach to environmental protection issues has been implemented in other projects in the Baltic Sea developed by the PGE Group – Baltica 2 and Baltica 3.

”One of the key stages in the design of any offshore wind farm is environmental survey,” said Dariusz Lociński, President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica.

”They allow for accurate identifiying the natural resources of the sea – not only in terms of geology and water, but also in terms of organisms present in the studied area – plants, animals living on the seabed, fish, birds and mammals, including bats. All this is done when designing the construction in order to minimize the impact on the natural environment during construction and subsequent long-term operation of a wind farm. Importantly, in addition to the offshore wind farm area, the surveys will also cover the area of ​​sea and land where the offshore wind farm connection infrastructure will be built.”

Baltica 1 is one of the three projects currently developed by PGE in the Baltic Sea. In the years 2026-2027, the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 wind projects will be launched with a total installed capacity of around 2.5 GW. The Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects are implemented by the PGE Group and Ørsted.

Baltica 1, with an installed capacity of around 900 MW, is developed by the PGE Group and will be launched after 2030.

It will be built in the area of ​​Central Shoal, north of the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects. Baltica 1 already has a location permit and a connection agreement. By implementing further offshore wind farm projects, PGE Group intends to fulfill the strategic goal of achieving at least 6.5 GW of offshore generation capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040.