The company announced on Monday that the installation marks a key milestone in what is expected to become Poland’s first operational offshore wind farm by 2026.
The turbines are being mounted by a 160-meter jack-up vessel specially upgraded last year to handle the installation of large-scale offshore units.
The vessel can carry and install three full turbines at a time, each consisting of tower sections, a nacelle the size of a three-story house, and blades measuring 115 meters in length.
The swept area of each rotor is 43,700 square meters—more than six football pitches.
Orlen CEO Ireneusz Fąfara described the turbine installation as the start of “a crucial stage in an investment that is genuinely modernizing Poland’s energy sector.”
He said offshore wind is one of the most efficient and reliable forms of renewable energy and that building it out will support Poland’s shift toward a stable, clean, and competitive energy mix.
“The diversification of energy sources and the reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels means long-term energy security, which is particularly important in an era of geopolitical instability,” Fąfara said.
The 76 turbines, once operational, will be able to generate around 4,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of zero-emissions electricity annually—enough to meet about 3 percent of Poland’s national demand.
According to Orlen, a single turbine can produce enough power to supply a mid-sized city the size of Poland's Stalowa Wola or Krosno.
Some of the turbine towers are made from recycled steel, a first for offshore wind projects in Poland, the company said.
Some turbine components such as nacelles are being manufactured in Poland—particularly in the new Vestas facility in the northwestern city of Szczecin.
The offshore substations, land cables and some foundation components have also been locally produced.
Grzegorz Szabliński, CEO of Baltic Power, called the project “a massive engineering and logistical challenge” that requires the coordination of up to 15 vessels at once.
Work is ongoing not only on installing turbines but also on placing foundations and preparing for the laying of inter-array and export cables.
Onshore construction is also underway, including a substation and cable trenches.
In April, Orlen completed a service base in the port of Łeba. It will serve as the farm’s operations center for the next 30 years and currently supports the ongoing construction phase.
Baltic Power is the first of several offshore wind farms Orlen plans to build. The company has made offshore wind one of the pillars of its long-term development strategy, alongside other low-emission technologies including large-scale energy storage and small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).
Orlen and Northland Power signed their partnership agreement for Baltic Power in 2021. Once complete, the farm is expected to reduce Poland’s annual CO₂ emissions by about 2.8 million tons compared to equivalent output from conventional sources.
Orlen is an energy conglomerate operating refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. It runs fuel stations across Central Europe, including Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, and is expanding into oil and gas extraction, petrochemicals and renewable and nuclear energy.
Earlier this year, Orlen unveiled its 2035 strategy, which includes plans for four offshore wind farms, major energy storage facilities, and at least two small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).
The company forecasts cumulative capital and investment spending of up to PLN 380 billion (around EUR 90 billion, USD 105 billion) between 2025 and 2035, with expected operating profits of up to PLN 550 billion over the same period.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP