UK firm to design Polish offshore wind farm

Polish energy company PKN Orlen has selected the UK-based Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) to carry out preliminary technical and construction design of an offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea.

As part of the contract, ODE has agreed to work with Polish companies on the project. The project will include, among others, a preliminary turbine placement plan, and will determine the optimal type and size of support structures for wind turbines, and assumptions about the expected farm productivity.

The works carried out at this stage will enable the selection of specific technical solutions and the specification of the schedule and cost estimate of the planned investment.

The prepared project will also be the basis for submitting an application for the offshore wind farm’s building permit.

PKN Orlen, through its subsidiary Baltic Power, holds a license to build wind farms in the Baltic Sea with a maximum total capacity of up to 1,200 MW. The area covers approximately 131 square kilometres located some 23 kilometres off Choczewo and Łeba.

”The offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea is a key investment project that will significantly strengthen us as a leader in energy transformation not only in Poland, but also in Central Europe,” said Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.

”However, before clean energy from the Baltic Sea reaches the national power system, several years of intensive work are ahead of us. We want to involve as many Polish entities as possible in order to support the economy and build the potential of the Polish offshore industry.”

PKN Orlen plans to start constructing the wind farm in 2024.

The company has already secured the grid connection for the wind farm and is in the process of finding an industry partner to implement the investment. Preliminary geotechnical surveys of the seabed have been completed, and the wind measurement campaign is ongoing.

Back in July, the developer submitted an environmental report for the project.