Baltic Power has selected a general contractor for the service base for the offshore wind farm of Orlen Group and Northland Power. The investment will start later this year and be completed in 2025.
The base will service 76 turbines, operating for Orlen’s first wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The amount of energy generated will correspond to the electricity consumption of more than 1.5 million households.
“Poland is facing the need to transform its energy generation sources, and the Orlen Group will be at the forefront of this process. Access to cheap, green energy will be one of the key factors determining the competitiveness of the economy and the possibility of stable growth in the coming decades. That is why we are consistently building a strong multi-energy concern, capable of investing in promising areas of modern energy, which will ensure the security of energy supply to consumers, the development of the potential of Polish companies and an increase in value for shareholders of PKN Orlen,”
stresses Daniel Obajtek, CEO of PKN Orlen
PKN Orlen invests in the offshore wind sector
The Baltic Power wind farm, being built by a consortium of PKN Orlen and Northland Power, is to consist of 76 wind turbines, each more than 200m high. The farm will occupy an area of more than 130 square kilometres, approximately 23 kilometres north of the Baltic Sea coastline, at the level of Łeba and Choczew.
Moreover, the service base for the Baltic Power farm, which will be built in the Łeba harbour area, will be the centre for its daily operation and maintenance. The location is of great importance – the base must be close to the area where the farm is located to ensure the shortest possible response time for service teams. In this case, it will be about 40 minutes needed to get from Łeba to the farm area.
The selected company
Erbud will be responsible for the construction of the base, which will begin in 2023. As the general contractor, it will carry out, among other things, the preparation of the investment site, hydro-technical works related to the reconstruction of the wharf and the construction of the base building complex with its infrastructure. There will be 3-4 CTV (Crew Transport Vessel) vessels permanently stationed at the base, i.e., vessels designed to transport service personnel. Each of these can take up to 24 technicians at a time, along with the necessary equipment. The base, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will employ up to 50 people responsible for the maintenance and operation of the offshore wind farm.
The contractor expects to employ approximately 100 staff for the project. All suppliers and subcontractors that Erbud plans to use, more than 20 companies, are entities registered in Poland. Thus, the construction of the base will contribute to the development of the local value chain for the offshore wind sector.
Prospects of the offshore project
Baltic Power has also selected the company responsible for providing the contract engineer service. Antea Polska will be the company that will supervise the entire investment process, guaranteeing its timely completion. It is part of an international consortium specialising in comprehensive supervision of investments in, among others, the areas of energy, infrastructure and water management.
Baltic Power is the most advanced offshore wind farm project in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. In 2022, the company secured contracts for the production, transport and installation of all key components needed for the investment. At the beginning of 2023, the Baltic Power project received the first of the required construction permits for the onshore part of the project. This is the first such decision issued for offshore wind projects being developed in Poland. Obtaining the onshore permit is one of the milestones necessary to make the final investment decision and start construction of the wind farm in 2024.