First monopiles for Baltic Power offshore wind farm ready for shipment

The first shipments of foundation monopiles for the Baltic Power offshore wind farm have set off from Steelwind's factory in Nordenham. Twenty-six shipments will be made to the transhipment port, from where they will depart for the offshore construction site in early 2025.

Baltic Power is the most advanced offshore wind farm project in Poland. Construction of the onshore part of the farm has been underway since May 2023. According to the schedule, work on the construction of the offshore part of the farm will begin in early 2025. The essential work on the construction of the offshore part of Poland's first offshore wind farm will begin with the installation of the foundations. These consist of a monopile and a distinctive Transition Piece (TP) mounted on top of it, onto which the offshore wind turbine will eventually be placed. A total of 78 monopiles will be installed at the wind farm - 76 for the wind turbines and two for the offshore substations (OSS).

Batch production of monopiles at the Steelwind plant for the Baltic Power project has started in January 2024. The length of the monopiles can reach up to 120 metres, with a diameter of more than 9 metres and a weight of 1,700 tonnes. In the Baltic Power offshore wind farm area, the depth of the seabed reaches 30-45 metres and the monopiles will be driven up to more than 40 metres into the seabed . The monopiles are made of special steel, which is resistant to the weather and salinity of the sea water. At present, there are no companies in Poland that are capable of producing monopiles or transition elements in their entirety. However, some elements of secondary steel for monopiles, as well as elements of the transition pieces, are produced in Poland, at plants in Żary, Niemodlin and Skarżysko-Kamienna among others.

The Baltic Power offshore wind farm, a joint project of ORLEN and Northland Power, is the most advanced offshore wind project in Poland and the only one in the construction phase. Work is progressing according to schedule and the planned farm will contribute approximately 1.2 GW of power to the national energy system in 2026. At the same time, it will be one of the first farms in the world with wind turbines of 15 MW each. Baltic Power will cover approximately 3% of Poland's energy needs, thereby reducing national CO2 emissions by approximately 2.8 million tonnes per year.