Transition elements of the Baltic Power farm foundations from Polish factories finish production. Construction moves offshore in January 2025

Smulders' Polish factories are in the final stages of manufacturing the key foundation elements for the Baltic Power offshore wind farm. These are the transition pieces that will connect the foundations to the wind turbines. Once assembled, they will set off for the transhipment port. Already in the first quarter of 2025, they will be installed at the first offshore wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea.

The installation of foundations consisting of monopiles and transition pieces, or so-called TP's (the distinctive yellow structures that connect the foundations and offshore wind turbines), will begin the offshore installation work of the Baltic Power farm. The installation of the monopiles will start in January, and the next phase of work will see the transitional pieces applied to the monopiles.

At the plants in Żary, Niemodlin and Łęknica, work on auxiliary structures for the transition elements, so-called secondary steel, is nearing completion. Among other things, external service platforms, external equipment structures and mooring elements for service vessels are being built there. The steel used to produce them comes from Polish steel mills.

The production of the transition pieces was a complex process, requiring advanced welding and metalworking technologies. Therefore, they were coated with special anti-corrosion coatings that will protect them for about 30 years The entire transition elements weigh more than 350 tonnes and measure 20 metres high. Work on the production of the foundations is proceeding according to schedule. Maintaining it is crucial for the project, due to the booking periods for the specialised vessels to install them and the immediately following offshore turbine installation work.

The first elements of the monopiles, manufactured by Steelwind, are already compleye and cyclically transported to the transshipment port. Van Oord, one of the world's most experienced companies in this field with a fleet of specialised installation vessels, is responsible for the installation work of the foundations at sea. A specialised floating crane, Svanen, is already stationed in the Port of Gdynia, from which the installation of 78 monopiles for turbine and offshore substation foundations will take place.

The Baltic Power offshore wind farm, a joint venture between 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, which assumes that the farm will integrate approximately 1.2 GW of power into 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.