Ørsted and PGE to partner for Polish offshore wind farms

脴rsted and PGE plan to jointly develop two offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5GW in the Polish Baltic Sea

by Craig Richard 10 February 2021

Baltica 2 and 3 are due to be built off the coast of 艁eba in the north-eastern Pomerania province

脴rsted will buy into two Polish offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5GW and develop, build and operate them alongside state power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE).

The two companies had begun talks over the听1045MW Baltica 3 听补苍诲 1498MW Baltica 2 听projects in October 2019, with a view to 脴rsted buying a 50% stake in special purpose vehicles (SPVs) developing the two wind farms.

脴rsted has now agreed to subscribe for new shares representing 50% of total share capital in the projects, which will be built off the coast of Leba in the northern Pomerania province.

It will pay a total of PLN 657 million (鈧146 million) for the newly issued shares in the projects.

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2021, subject to regulatory approval.

Both projects are eligible for Poland鈥檚 first offshore wind allocation round, in which 5.9GW of capacity is due to be awarded. It is due to be held in the first half听 of 2021.

The 1GW Baltica 3 wind farm is the most advanced of the two projects and could be commissioned in 2026, according to PGE.听

Rasmus Errboe, 脴rsted鈥檚 head of the continental Europe region, said: 鈥淭ogether [with PGE], we will invest significantly in harvesting the renewable energy resources in the Baltic Sea while creating economic activity, ramping up the local supply chain, and establishing an industry in Poland that can potentially generate thousands of jobs within manufacturing, operations and maintenance of offshore wind farms.鈥

As a part of the joint venture 脴rsted, will significantly expand its on-the-ground presence in Poland, the Danish developer stated.

Meanwhile, PGE aims to install at least 6.5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040, and is currently helping to develop just over 4.1GW of Polish offshore wind capacity, according to 搖錢樹娛樂城 Intelligence, the research and data division of 搖錢樹娛樂城.

Poland's parliament unanimously adopted the country鈥檚 Offshore Wind Act in January 2021, paving the way for development of Poland鈥檚 first offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.

Poland aims to have 3.8GW of offshore wind capacity installed by 2030, 10GW by 2040 and 28GW by 2050.

It will allocate support for 5.9GW of capacity in the first half of 2021, before awarding contracts for difference in competitive auctions beyond that.