Poland approves PGE and PKN Orlen’s offshore wind joint ventures

The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has approved the construction of offshore wind farms through joint ventures between foreign companies and Poland’s Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) and PKN Orlen.

The authority issued two decisions on 12 March, one for each of the two Polish companies, approving this type of investment that includes the participation of both state-owned and foreign investors.

“Pursuant to the Act on competition and consumer protection, a transaction is subject to notification to the antimonopoly office if it involves entrepreneurs whose total turnover in the previous year exceeded EUR 1 billion in the world or EUR 50 million in Poland. The issued decisions are valid for two years”, UOKiK states.

PGE signed an agreement with Ørsted in February, when the two companies agreed on forming a 50/50 joint venture for the development, construction and operation of the 1.5 GW Baltica 2 and 1 GW Baltica 3 offshore wind farms in Poland. Under the agreement, Ørsted will subscribe for new shares representing 50 per cent of the total share capital in the two projects, with the subscription price for the newly issued shares in Baltica 2 and 3 amounting to a total of PLN 657 million (around EUR 147 million).

PKN ORLEN entered into an agreement with the Canadian energy company Northland Power in January, whereby Northland Power will acquire a 49 per cent stake in the 1.2 GW Baltic Power offshore wind farm. Northland will invest approximately PLN 290 million (EUR 64 million) in the project in 2021, including the purchase price and development expenditures that will be spent throughout 2021.

The Baltic Power offshore wind farm, located approximately 23 kilometres off the Polish coast in the Baltic Sea, has already secured its location permit, signed the grid connection agreement, and filed its environmental permit.

PGE and Ørsted’s Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects secured the environmental permits in January 2020.