Baltic Środkowy III will comprise of 120 wind turbines, located 23 km north of the coast of Poland in the Baltic Sea. With a height of up to 275 meters and 200-m in diameter blades, these will be the largest wind turbines ever in the country.
Poland’s largest private, vertically integrated energy group, Polenergia, has been the first operator in Poland to obtain an environmental permit for the construction of an offshore wind farm from the Regional Directorate of Environmental Protection (RDOŚ). The project, Baltic Środkowy III, has a planned capacity is 600 MW and will be one of the largest wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
Baltic Środkowy III will comprise of 120 wind turbines, located 23 km north of the coast. The capacity of a single turbine will be up to 5 MW, and its height will amount up to 275 meters.
This means that the design will be up to 44 meters higher than the height of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw (231 m), with a diameter of the blades up to 200 m. These will be the largest wind turbines ever in Poland.
“One pillar of the company’s development are the greatly promising wind-farm projects in the Baltic Sea, which are characterized by high stability and fit into the energy of Poland,” said Jacek Glowacki, who heads Polenergia. “The issue of the first environmental decision for offshore wind farms in Poland is a critical milestone in the development of these projects.”
Glowacki added that a final total capacity of the planned offshore farms in the Baltic Sea is 1200 MW, which is three times higher than the capacity of onshore wind projects that have been suspended because of distance limitations. “We expect that this year both of our projects in the Baltic Sea will be issued environmental decisions,” he said.
The approved roadmap provides for a three-year period to prepare the technical design and to obtain building permission. Commencement of construction is expected in 2019. The first electricity is expected to flow to the Polish coast within five years. The operational life span is planned for 25 years.
Total potential investment of PLN 10bn will greatly benefit the local communities and the Polish economy. The company estimates that local Polish content, directly or indirectly, will account for up to 60% of that investment, which is about PLN 6bn.
Local components will come from foundations, towers, cables, offshore transformer stations, construction services, as well as the potential production of turbines or supply ships. Such a scale of potential orders addressed to Polish companies, is a big boost for new job creation not only in the Baltic coastal regions but also across the country.
Learn more about the planned projects here.
Filed Under: Construction, News, Offshore wind, Policy, Projects
