BALTIC POWER CONFIRMS FIRST SUCCESSFUL INSTALLATIONS OF THE OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES FOR POLAND’S FIRST OFFSHORE WIND FARM

Baltic Power project, a joint venture between ORLEN Group and Northland Power, confirmed the first successful installation of the first 15-MW offshore wind turbine. In total 76 turbines will be installed at the Poland’s first offshore wind farm, estimated to cover 3% of national electricity demand. Commissioning is expected in 2026. 

This is the day the entire offshore wind industry in Poland has been waiting for. The first successful installation of offshore wind turbines for the Baltic Power wind farm is a fact. In total 76 of such turbines will provide sustainable energy to over 1,5 million households across Poland. It is a challenging and difficult operation to execute, but it will bring a significant boost to the country’s energy transition. Furthermore, several nacelles for our turbines will be manufactured at the newly launched VESTAS factory in Szczecin. These are the next key elements of our wind farm produced locally, alongside topsides of offshore substations, onshore cables, elements of foundations and many others – says Grzegorz Szabliński, President of The Management Board of Baltic Power.  

Baltic Power is the 2nd offshore wind farm in Europe to install 15 MW turbines, one of the largest available on the global markets. The V236-15 turbines are manufactured by Vestas. The blades measure ~115 m and provide over 43,7k m2 swept area (more than 6 football fields). With towers reaching 120 meters tall, the turbine’s total height exceeds 260 meters. Top parts of Baltic Power’s towers have been manufactured using recycled steel. Polish offshore wind farm is the first project to use this solution. The nacelles exceed a 3-story household building in size. A single 15 MW turbine needs only 1 minute of work to provide energy for a public transportation bus for a 100 km route.  

As the first project in Poland that has reached such an advanced stage of the construction, we pave the way in multiple areas and build experience for the entire industry. The installation campaign is a major challenge in terms of planning, logistics and marine coordination, as we are one of the first ever projects to install such large-scale turbines. Besides, we continue installations of foundations and transition pieces on the other parts of the offshore construction site and operate a fleet of around 15 various vessels working simultaneously. We have been preparing this operation for years and are determined to lead it to safe and successful commissioning next year – says Jens Poulsen, Project Director and the Board Member of Baltic Power. 

For the installation campaign of the turbines, the project chose Cadeler as the transport and installation contractor. The o-class jack-up vessel Wind Osprey will lead the installation works. The length of the vessel exceeds 160 m, jacking capacity reaches up to 11 000 tons and can transport 3 full turbines consisting of tower sections, blades and nacelles. 

In 2024, Wind Osprey was upgraded and provided with new cranes of 1600 t lifting capacity and 160 m reach above the main deck in order to be able to install such large turbines as the ones used for the Baltic Power project. There are only a few such state-of-the-art vessels and Wind Osprey had to be booked over three years in advance for this operation.  

Meanwhile, the installation of foundations and transition pieces is progressing at the offshore construction site of Baltic Power. The project is preparing for the installation of inter-array and export offshore cables and offshore substations later this year as well.  

The onshore works, including construction of onshore substation and cable arrays, are continuing in schedule. The construction of the service base in Łeba, that will host operations and maintenance crews for up to 30 years has commenced this April. The facility in Łeba is supporting the offshore installation campaign at the moment.  

Commissioning is expected in 2026. Once operational Baltic Power will be Poland’s first offshore wind farm. It’s the first project that reached construction phase and currently the only one with an ongoing offshore installation campaign. With the capacity of 1,2 GW the farm will be able to produce 4TWh energy per year, which stands for 3% of national energy demand and needs of over 1,5 million households across Poland.  Baltic Power estimates to reduce CO2 emissions by around 2.8 million tonnes per year compared to conventional energy sources.