Poland to invest billions of Euros in offshore wind, green hydrogen, port development

The Polish government has allocated more than € 4 billion for offshore wind, port development, and hydrogen production and distribution in its National Reconstruction Plan (KPO).

The KPO has been adopted by the Council of Ministers and submitted to the European Commission through which Poland will tap into the EU Reconstruction Fund. More than third of the total of € 58 billion on the country’s disposal will be poured into achieving clean energy, energy efficiency and climate change goals.

Among several energy-related areas, the National Reconstruction Plan has also set out concrete amounts to be invested in offshore wind construction, port infrastructure, transmission network, as well as in renewable energy-powered hydrogen production.

Poland will invest € 3.25 billion in the construction of offshore wind farms and the policy reform to facilitate offshore wind development.

Bringing the planned 5.9 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 and around 11 GW by 2040 to realisation also requires building a main installation terminal at the Port of Gdynia and setting up logistics facilities for offshore wind in the Baltic Sea, as well as the development of service terminals, according to the KPO. 

For this purpose, the government has allocated € 437 million for port infrastructure to accommodate offshore wind build-out.

The port development plan includes the construction of a 30-hectare deepwater installation terminal at the Port of Gdynia and upgrades of the ports in Łeba and Ustka to support offshore wind activities.

Adding 5.9 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 11 GW by 2040 will also change the structure of electricity production and distribution in Poland. Projected share of electricity production from offshore wind will be up to 13.3 per cent in 2030, and up to 19.3 per cent in 2040.

To accommodate the increasing share of renewable energy in the national transmission system, € 300 million have been earmarked for the development of the transmission networks and intelligent electricity infrastructure.

In order to increase the efficiency of electricity transmission and the stability of the power grid, especially with the connection of new renewable energy capacities, investments in 379 kilometres of transmission lines are planned.

The government also plans to adopt a legislative package that includes an incentive system for low-carbon and green hydrogen production, which will also support increasing use of renewable energy. From the reconstruction fund, Poland will pour € 800 million into the production, storage and transportation of green hydrogen, and into setting up a framework for this sector’s development.