Largest wind farm project in the Baltic Sea prepares for auction

The Bałtyk I offshore wind farm is one of three projects jointly developed by Equinor and Polenergia. Bałtyk I, Bałtyk II and Baałtyk III will have a combined capacity of up to 3 GW, allowing more than 4 million Polish households to be supplied with green energy. Baltic I is the project of the largest wind farm under construction in the Baltic Sea, with a capacity of up to 1560 MW.

The Bałtyk I offshore wind farm will be located about 80 kilometers from the coastline. Electricity from the project will flow via cables ashore to a connection point at the Polish Power Grid Krzemienica substation under construction in the Redzikowo municipality. A land connection infrastructure corridor of up to 20 kilometers will run underground to preserve tourism and scenic values and to minimize impacts on existing land use.

The planned onshore power exit will be implemented partially (in the northern part of the alignment) in the immediate vicinity of the corridor designated for the connection infrastructure of the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms. One landfall location using trenchless technology is planned for all three wind farms. To date, Bałtyk I has obtained a permit to lay and maintain cables in the offshore section and a grid connection agreement with the transmission system operator.

The total distance from the connection point and the total planned capacity justifies the use of the first offshore wind farm power derivation using direct current (HVDC) technology. This technology has already been installed at the largest offshore wind farm in the world – Dogger Bank in the UK, where the first power was fed into the grid in 2023. Equinor is one of the shareholders in this project and will be operator in its operational phase. The experience gained from the UK will be transferred to Poland. An application to change the connection conditions for Baltic I to direct current technology has already been submitted to the Polish Power Grid.

The Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms, due to come online in 2027, will have a capacity of 1440 MW. The projects already have contracted major suppliers of key components. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has been appointed as the turbine supplier, SIF Netherlands B.V. as the foundation supplier, and Hitachi Energy as the electrical systems infrastructure supplier.

Equinor and Polenergia also already have secured contracts for the design, manufacture, supply and installation of internal cables and export cables for both projects. The internal cables will be supplied and installed by Seaway7. In turn, the contract for marine export cables was awarded to an international consortium formed by Jan de Nul and Hellenic Cables. The investment partners also signed an agreement with DNV, which will take care of certification of the offshore parts of the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III wind farms.

This year, construction work will begin on O&M base in Łeba, which, as a logistics and operations center, will be responsible for the safe and proper operation of offshore wind farms for 30 years of their operation. The base will employ about 100 people. All three projects will generate up to 10,000 jobs.