The approach to energy and climate in Poland is changing. The programme to develop offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, worth almost 28 billion euro, is set to become one of the pillars of transition in the country previously powered mostly by coal – such is the opinion shared by the participants of the Polish Wind Energy Association‘s briefing “The future of wind power in Poland” during Europe’s largest offshore wind conference Offshore2019 organized by WindEurope in Copenhagen.

The change of approach was earlier indicated by the inclusion of offshore wind in strategic documents – the drafts of Poland’s Energy Policy and the National Energy and Climate Plan. Today, the construction of 8-10 GW of capacity in the Polish maritime zone in the Baltic Sea by 2040 has achieved a status of strategic project, not just for the energy sector, but for the entire economy. – Gigawatts installed in the Baltic Sea are going to make Poland’s energy mix greener and significantly contribute to Europe’s climate neutrality – said Janusz Gajowiecki, President of the Polish Wind Energy Association.

– Although the implementation of this project will be an enormous task, we need to set more ambitious goals right from the start. Offshore wind power is capable of combining three priorities of Poland’s energy policy: ensuring security of energy supply, price competitiveness and environmental protection. Therefore it is a reason for concern that in the updated version of PEP2040 the potential of offshore wind was reduced by 2 GW from the original version of the document from over 10 GW to approx. 8 GW – Janusz Gajowiecki believes.

According to WindEurope’s estimates, the Polish maritime waters could accommodate approx. 28 GW by 2050, i.e. one-third of capacity that can be installed in the entire Baltic Sea, and significantly contribute to meeting the European Commission’s target on the path towards climate neutrality.

Electricity from Polish offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea can be generated for the first time around 2025. Thus, Poland will join the group of countries developing this technology, including the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.

Polenergia and Equinor’s Joint Venture, with two very advanced projects with a total capacity of 1440 MW, declares readiness to generate electricity in the middle of the next decade However, there are two conditions. The first one is the adoption and entry into force in 2020 of the long-awaited regulatory framework supporting offshore wind farms.

– The entry into force of new principles of support for offshore wind, no later than next year, is a key condition for further dynamic work and an answer to the question about when the construction could start. If this issue is not clarified next year, we will be forced to suspend work on selection of technology solutions. With technology changing so rapidly, we cannot getting tied to a technology that becomes outdated very soon, if it turned out that the project can be developed several years later than currently planned. We do not want to do it, and that is why 2020 is so important in the context of adoption and entry into force of the support scheme for Polish offshore wind. – clarifies Michał Michalski, CEO of Polenergia.

The second condition necessary to meet the 2025 commissioning date is the introduction of a number of technical and administrative improvements in the permitting process and preparation for construction.

– Our industry has proposals of solutions and we want to talk to the government about the required improvements. This would allow us to focus on selecting the best technical and economic solutions based on quality, rather than struggling with bureaucratic red tape. Everyone would benefit from that, as it would result in faster project completion, lower costs of preparatory process, earlier effects of higher employment, and – most importantly – better quality solutions, as quality would be the main area of focus – adds Mr Michalski from Polenergia, which is developing three projects with a total capacity of 3 GW jointly with the Norwegian strategic partner.

Other players are also set to select their strategic partners in the nearest future. PGE is talking to Danish company Ørsted in order to negotiate the conditions for sale of a 50% stake in two wind farms by the end of 2019.  – Intense work is currently taking place on selecting a partner for development of our first two projects with a total capacity of 2,5 GW, in order to strengthen our leading position in the renewables sector – says Monika Morawiecka, CEO of PGE Baltica, part of PGE Group, the largest energy producer in Poland, whose strategic goal is to increase its share of RES in energy generation to 25% by 2025.

In turn, PKN Orlen – the largest fuel company and fourth largest energy producer in Poland – intends to sign an agreement with a partner with know-how next year. Its investment project is expected to start in 2023+.

The biggest players in the Polish energy and fuel market are getting involved in development of offshore wind potential in the Baltic Sea due to the enormous importance of these projects to the Polish economy.

According to a 2016 report by consultancy firm McKinsey, investment in the first 6 GW of offshore wind capacity will result in Polish GDP growing by up to PLN 60bn (for comparison, the Polish state budget amounts to approx. PLN 400bn) and additional tax revenues in the range of PLN 15bn for the state and local budgets. Additionally, up to 77,000 highly paid and innovative jobs can be created around the sector.

– From the point of view of the entire economy, offshore wind has an enormous potential for Polish industry to have a share in the supply chain. Except for wind turbines, which are currently not manufactured in Poland, almost all other components can be supplied by companies located in Poland – Monika Morawiecka adds.

– The implementation of the most recent version of Poland’s Energy Policy, envisaging 8 GW of offshore wind by 2040, may result in investments of almost 28 bn euro in all related sectors of the economy. Important signals bringing us closer to implementation of offshore wind projects in Poland include, on the one hand, appointing a government representative for RES, and on the other – a significant interest of financial markets – says Jarosław Dybowski, Director for Energy at PKN Orlen. The project is of strategic importance for PKN Orlen. It is in line with the global trend of energy transition and allows Orlen to think about building its goodwill in the long term.

 

Media contact:

Aneta Wieczerzak-Krusińska

Spokeswoman Polish Wind Energy Association

mob. +48 508 848 956

e-mail: a.wieczerzak@psew.pl