Windmills ma offshore will be more efficient than nuclear power plant, PM announces

Prime Minister Donald Tusk referred extensively to Poland’s energy strategy in his speech at the opening of the EFNI 2024 European Forum for New Ideas taking place October 16-18 in Sopot. According to the head of government, the planned investment in offshore wind farms is expected to ultimately generate 18 GW of energy – as much as four times the capacity of the planned nuclear power plant.

The key role of energy

During his speech, Prime Minister Tusk stressed the dependence of the entire Polish economy on the country’s energy self-reliance. In his view, at a time of uncertain global political situation, investments in renewable energy are the basis for the prosperity of entrepreneurs. He considered it crucial not only to ensure uninterrupted supplies of electricity, but also to reduce its price, which today is among the highest in the EU.

According to the head of government, priority directions for the development of the Polish energy sector include the construction of offshore wind turbines in the Baltic Sea, the repowering of onshore windmills and the development of nuclear power plants. At the same time, Prime Minister Tusk stressed that the government now faces the task of creating a modern power grid that will enable the use of the energy produced. PLN 70 billion of public funds will be allocated for this purpose over the next decade.

Offshore and onshore wind turbines – big plans

Speaking to businessmen gathered in Sopot, the head of government referred to the ambitious initiative to build offshore wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea zone. Their total capacity is expected to eventually reach 18 GW ( 17.7 GW to be exact, according to a report by the Polish Wind Energy Association). This is more than four times as much as the power of the planned nuclear power plant in Choczew, which is projected at a maximum of 3750 MW. It is worth adding that according to PWEA, by 2040 offshore wind power could meet up to 57 percent of Poland’s total electricity demand.

In his speech, Prime Minister Tusk also referred to turbines located onshore. In his opinion, public opposition to the expansion of onshore farms is fully understandable. At the same time, he pointed to the option of repowering, i.e. replacing the oldest units with new, more efficient turbines. Such an upgrade could lead to as much as a 400-500 percent increase in capacity – according to the head of the government, in the most optimistic scenario this means generating as much as 5-6 GW of additional electricity.

Polish implementation potential

The prime minister referred quite forcefully to skeptical opinions about the actual implementation of the planned investments. He recalled that Poland has managed to build one of the most modern networks of roads and highways in Europe within a few years. At the same time, he assured that the government is fully determined to implement an ambitious energy strategy based on nuclear and offshore. The first nuclear power plant will be built almost entirely with public funds, while the government will seek partners to build the second.

Speaking about renewable energy sources, Prime Minister Tusk stipulated that he did not want to refer to ideological issues related to the Green Deal. The government’s motivation is purely pragmatic and driven by economic needs. The head of government thus referred to the high-profile report by Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, on European competitiveness and the challenges it faces. The issue of the crucial role of energy is consistently emphasized in all 400 pages of the document.

We should add that Draghi and his team have formulated a thesis that the era of the European Union’s dependence on cheap Russian energy, borderless Chinese markets and American stability is over. The Union now faces a huge challenge of reconciling the process of decarbonization of the economy with the development of its competitiveness and the race, for the time being, is absolutely won by the United States and China.