Poland can boom in offshore wind like UK, says Equinor

Equinor has thrown its weight behind efforts for close cooperation between the Polish government and the offshore wind sector.

The Norwegian oil and gas major has signed a declaration with the aim to close a ‘sector deal’ on wind at sea similar to one reached in the UK two years ago.

“Equinor welcomes the initiative for a Polish offshore wind ‘Sector Deal’ and is proud to co-sign the Letter of Intent. This is an important moment in the development of offshore wind in Poland,” said Ingunn Svegården, vice president emerging regions in the new energy solutions division at Equinor.

“We have positive experiences from the ‘Sector Deal’ process in the United Kingdom, which has been instrumental for the successful development of the British offshore wind industry. Building on this experience, we want to contribute to making offshore wind a success story in Poland.” Equinor is co-developing the world's largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank, off eastern England.

The sector deal will set the framework for a close cooperation between Warsaw and the offshore wind sector, Equinor believes.

The company plans to become a key player in the emerging Polish offshore wind sector, after buying half of the Bałtyk 1, 2 and 3 projects developed by Polish energy firm Polenergia in the Baltic Sea, which are in various stages of development.

Equinor said a final investment decision of the furthest developed Bałtyk 2&3 projects, with a combined capacity of up to 1.44GW, could be taken in 2023, assuming that Contracts for Difference (CfD) support will be allocated early next year. First power from those arrays could be fed into the Polish grid in 2025.

The up to 1.56GW Bałtyk 1 project, located further away from shore, is slated to have a capacity of up to 1.56GW, but is in an earlier stage of development.

“Equinor is currently maturing three large-scale offshore wind projects in Poland, together with our partner Polenergia. These projects are amongst the most mature offshore wind projects in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea,” said Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczyk, president of the management board of Equinor Polska.

He added that Equinor has already started to engage with potential Polish and international suppliers and is looking forward to deepening the cooperation.

“We appreciate the trustful dialogue we have with the Polish government on the framework for offshore wind. A timely adoption of the Offshore Wind Law will be a key element for the further maturation of our projects.”