Offshore wind energy in Poland is gaining momentum. The first wind farm in 2 years

Polish offshore wind energy is developing dynamically, and Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) is consistently implementing its investments in the Baltic Sea, preparing the construction of the Baltica 2 wind farm and starting research for the Baltica 9 project.

Construction of the Baltica 2 wind farm in the Baltic Sea

Baltica 2, developed by PGE together with the Danish company Ørsted, is currently the largest offshore wind energy project in Poland. The planned installed capacity is approximately 1.5 GW, which will allow supplying energy to about 2.5 million households. The farm will be built around 40 km from the shore, on an area of 190 km². The project has already obtained all necessary administrative permits.

The construction of Baltica 2 will proceed in stages:

• in 2025, installation works on the seabed will begin
• in 2026, the installation of foundations, export cables, and transformer stations is planned
• in 2027, turbine assembly and the start of the first energy deliveries to the grid are expected

The full commissioning of the farm is scheduled for the second half of 2027.

Service base in Ustka for PGE offshore projects

An integral part of the Baltica 2 project implementation will be an operational and service base to be built in Ustka. Initially, the facility will serve the Baltica 2 farm, but in the future, it will also support other offshore projects carried out by PGE in the Baltic Sea. In March this year, PGE signed a contract with the construction company DORACO to carry out this facility. The base will be located on the site of the former fish processing plant in the western part of the port, covering an area of over 2.3 ha.

The complex will include, among others, an administrative and social building, warehouses, a maneuvering yard, and a quay for handling Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) units. Development of over 5,500 m² of green areas is also planned. Construction is scheduled to start in the spring of this year and to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Geophysical works for the Baltica 9 project

Alongside the advanced work on Baltica 2, PGE has started preparatory activities for the next project – Baltica 9. According to the announcement from April 25, PGE Baltica signed a contract with Geofizyka Toruń S.A. for conducting geophysical surveys for the Baltica 9 Offshore Wind Farm project. The contract includes high-resolution reflection seismic surveying along with bathymetric measurements. The aim of the work is a preliminary analysis of the potential of the studied area, which is a necessary stage in preparing the project for auction participation and subsequent offshore construction.

The survey area is located in the northern part of the Słupsk Bank, less than 50 km from the coastline. Sea measurements are scheduled to begin in the first half of May 2025 and last until mid-June. The results of the analyses are expected by November 2025.

The seismic method used will allow for accurate identification of the geological structure of the seabed down to a depth of 100 m and the identification of potential geological hazards, such as shallow gas concentrations, paleochannels, or glacial till packages.

Baltica 9 is a project designated for one of the five areas awarded to PGE in 2023. The planned capacity of the farm will be approximately 975 MW, and the investment area will cover about 121 km². The project’s location is close to other offshore projects developed by PGE and the service base under construction in Ustka.

Polish offshore wind energy – dynamic development

Currently, PGE’s offshore wind farm project portfolio includes eight investments at various stages of advancement, with a total planned capacity exceeding 7 GW. Projects such as Baltica 2 and Baltica 9 are part of the broader process of building the Polish offshore wind sector, which is now transitioning from individual support decisions to an auction model.

The construction of wind farms in the Baltic Sea is one of the key elements of the energy transition and the decarbonization of Poland’s energy mix.