PGE, Ørsted advance 2.5-GW Baltica offshore wind project in Poland

Polish utility PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (WSE:PGE) and Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) have received the environmental decision for the connection infrastructure for the 2.5-GW Baltica offshore wind farm in Poland, taking a major step towards a final investment decision on the project.

The decision on the infrastructure that will transmit the energy produced offshore to the land was issued by the Regional Director of Environmental Protection in Gdansk.

After receiving the decision, the two developers submitted water permit applications and are about to apply for location decisions, paving the way to building permits.

"These are the last administrative requirements that will allow the Baltica 2+3 project to mature towards taking a final investment decision and then move from planning to investment execution," said Ørsted's project director Soren Westergaard Jensen.

The project will be implemented in two phases -- Baltica 3 of up to 1,045.5 MW expected to go online in 2026 and Baltica 2 of up to 1,497 MW, which is to be commissioned in 2027.

Both phases obtained the environmental decision for the offshore wind farm in 2020 and location decisions and connection agreements to the power grid with the operator are also in place. The project has also the right to a contract for difference (CfD).

In August, the developers selected a consortium of Ramboll Polska, the Polish arm of Danish consulting and engineering firm Ramboll, and Poland’s Projmors Maritime Construction Design Office as a contractor for the development’s construction project.

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