Equinor Strengthens its Position in Polish Offshore Wind Market
On 10 December Equinor completed the acquisition of a 50% interest in the offshore wind development project Bałtyk I in Poland from Polenergia. The company now has an interest in all three Bałtyk offshore wind development projects.
“The acquisition of Baltyk I strengthens our presence in the Baltic Sea area. With interest in all three – Baltyk I, II and III projects, we have the opportunity to build scale and value in what we see as an important energy region”, says Jens Økland, Senior Vice President for Business Development in New Energy Solutions at Equinor. The Bałtyk I offshore location license allows for a development of a windfarm with a capacity up to 1560MW of which Equinor will hold 50%. Equinor will be the manager for the construction preparation and the potential construction and operational phases.
It was in 2018 that Equinor acquired a 50% interest in the offshore wind development projects Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III which have a combined planned capacity of 1,440MW with the potential to power more than two million Polish households. Later that year, Equinor decided to exercise an option to acquire a 50% interest in the Bałtyk I offshore wind development project, and this transaction is now concluded.
The windfarm area is in the Baltic Sea in water depths of 25-35m, approximately 80km from the port of Łeba. “Poland is an important market for Equinor and we are pleased to continue our partnership with Polenergia, which is an experienced energy company with an in-depth knowledge of the Polish energy market,” says Mr Økland. The two companies have a 50/50 joint venture and are working together to mature the Baltyk projects towards construction.
Equinor welcomes the recent progress in the development of a legal framework for offshore wind in Poland. Clearly defined targets for offshore wind, a robust and predictable framework that sets the right incentives and a streamlined permitting process will be key success factors to develop the offshore wind sector in Poland and to realise the Polish supply chain potential.