The President of URE granted the right to cover the negative balance of the so-called differential contract ensuring the price for electricity generated in an offshore wind farm and supplied to the grid, at the level not higher than the one set by the Minister of Climate and the Environment in the regulation of 30 March 2021, i.e. PLN 319.6 per 1 MWh. The granted support is an important step in implementing the MFW Bałtyk 2 and MFW Bałtyk 3 projects which are included in the first phase of development of offshore wind energy in Poland.
The special-purpose vehicles have obtained final non-appealable decisions on environmental conditions for the construction of MFW Bałtyk 2 Offshore Wind Farm (March 2017) and MFW Bałtyk 3 Offshore Wind Farm (July 2016) along with connection agreements, as well as a valid decision on environmental conditions for the construction of transmission infrastructure (March 2019).
Detailed seabed surveys were performed for the MFW Bałtyk 2 and MFW Bałtyk 3 projects in the area of future offshore wind farms, to detect and neutralize potential unexploded shells or other objects that could jeopardize the safety of the planned foundation works for the wind turbines. During the exploration, which lasted from August to September 2020, no objects were found that could constitute a threat for the construction of offshore wind farms. In addition, a preliminary study of seabed geology has been executed and a two-year wind measurement campaign has been carried out using the LIDAR system. Thanks to the confirmed outstanding wind conditions, it will be possible to use the wind energy effectively in this area.
The final investment decision for the MFW Bałtyk 2 and MFW Bałtyk 3 wind farms is scheduled for 2025, which will enable supply of first electricity to the grid in 2027. The production capacity of both farms should be 1440 MW, which will provide enough electricity to power more than 2 million households.
The third project, MFW Bałtyk I Offshore Wind Farm, has a valid location permit and conditions for connection received from the transmission system operator (January 2021). Currently, a comprehensive pre-investment program of sea environment studies is carried out to assess the environmental impact of MFW Bałtyk 1, which is the milestone on the way to obtaining a decision on environmental conditions – one of the key documents necessary to execute the project.