Green electricity from offshore wind farms may become the pillar of energy transition in Poland and consolidate our energy security. This is also an unprecedented opportunity for growth and development of competitive position of Polish entrepreneurs on the basis of state-of-the-art zero-emission technologies. However, we still face many issues that need action, solutions and innovative approach.
It is estimated that offshore wind investments may be worth approximately PLN 130 billion — the money will be gained by entrepreneurs, shipyards and industry, and will enable the creation of tens of thousands new jobs. In order to harvest this potential it is necessary to specify a long-term vision for the development of the offshore sector, to support Polish local content (including to create a port base for installation and maintenance of turbines and other elements) and to remove existing barriers for the sector’s development while avoiding creation of new ones. Offshore is a sector that can help to improve the living standard of our community and bring us closer to developed countries — currently the living standard in Poland corresponds to approximately half of that found in the “old” EU. Public education is also crucial, for any transition should be coupled with awareness of its importance and effects for the community directly or indirectly affected by the transition.
Offshore projects to be completed in Phase I — the first are planned to be commissioned already in 2026 — need predictability and stability of assumptions made upon estimation of maximum price and filing of aid applications. Unfortunately, emerging draft legal regulations substantially change the game rules.
Polish Wind Energy Association emphasizes that the goal of all entities involved in the development of offshore wind is to hold the investment process in a safe and responsible way. Every investor is exercising due diligence in ensuring all necessary procedures during the offshore wind farm design, construction and operation phases, resulting from applicable international standards and requirements of project financing institutions and insurers.
In that context, excessive requirements for availability of export infrastructure built by investors or extensive, multi-stage certification of offshore projects that do not reflect the rules applicable in the majority of other countries are barely acceptable. PWEA emphasizes that excessively burdensome certification schemes may substantially adversely affect the time schedule and costs of the projects while bringing no value added in practice — they do not cause the projects to be of better “quality”, for quality is ensured by the existing requirements of project stakeholders. Moreover, for energy transition to succeed in Poland, one needs to extend the possibilities for offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea, for its in our assessment its potential is much higher than currently demonstrated by governmental documents. Therefore, the spatial development plan for maritime areas and Energy Policy of Poland should be revised in that aspect as soon as possible. We could achieve 17 GW of installed offshore capacity in 2040 (instead of the currently specified 11 GW), with as much as 28 GW in 2050 — meaning that offshore wind could cover up to 70 percent of national electricity demand!
However, currently we are certain that Phase I projects, with total installed capacity of approximately 6 GW, will be completed. To have more projects in the pipeline, we need to specify clear rules for granting location permits to subsequent offshore projects as soon as possible. The regulation concerning the conclusion of procedures granting location permits is stuck in Ministry of Infrastructure due to reservations concerning the lack of sufficient competitiveness and transparency of the procedure. To enable the first offshore auction to be held as planned in 2025 this should be solved fast.
Maximisation of the share of Polish enterprises in projects is another important aspect. This will enable Polish entities to gain the necessary experience and know-how, invaluable for future investments. Currently, the ambitions for local content in the first phase of offshore wind development is estimated at 20-25%; however, the potential of the national industry is much higher — in the long term the share of local enterprises in the development of offshore wind farms may reach 45-50%. However, achieving the 50% level is a great challenge. Poland may achieve that goal only with sound institutional and regulatory framework and well-planned, properly implemented multi-directional measures aimed at creating favourable business environment for offshore development. The first and most important step in that aspect is to adapt Polish ports for the installation of wind farms, for this will entail the development of the entire product and service infrastructure for offshore, located around Polish ports. Unfortunately, currently we doubt whether public authorities will succeed in adapting Port of Gdynia to the needs of Phase I offshore projects.