PGE and Ørsted together for suppliers – record-high attendance in the virtual meeting on the development of the Baltica OWF.
Almost 800 representatives of potential suppliers, subcontractors and other entities interested in cooperation in the implementation of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm, including over 500 from Poland - - joined a special virtual event organized by PGE and Ørsted.
Watch a recording of the event
The meeting began with a speech by Wojciech Dąbrowski, president of the management board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, who presented the PGE Group’s current offshore wind projects and its ambitions in the offshore wind area until 2040. Currently PGE, in cooperation with Ørsted, is developing the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects. Their total generation capacity is to reach approx. 2.5 GW by the end of the decade.
- We are constantly striving to acquire new locations for future offshore wind energy projects. At the moment, we have submitted eight applications for location permits which are awaiting the decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure. Our ambition is to obtain at least 6.5 GW of offshore generation capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040. By that time, the total installed capacity in offshore wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea area will reach 11 GW, which results from the assumptions of the Polish Energy Policy 2040. This means that half of the power from offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea will be generated in 2040 from PGE installations, commented Wojciech Dąbrowski, president of the management board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
The second investor - the Orsted Group - was introduced by Rasmus Errboe - senior vice president, head of Continental Europe, who emphasized the company's experience both in the construction of offshore wind farms and in optimizing the costs of implementing such an investment. Until now Ørsted developed a pipeline of 32 offshore wind farms worldwide.
- Last year we have updated our strategic goals for renewables buildout to now reach 50 GW by 2030, including 30 GW in offshore wind. Currently Ørsted as a global leader we operate a portfolio of 7,6 GW of OFW, one of our biggest projects is developed in Poland with our partner PGE Baltica and we are very committed to the Polish market for the long run. We are here to support the Polish energy transition, the green economy, and this also means that we will be building a strong network of suppliers that can help Ørsted and our partners to succeed. Polish companies that will join the Baltica offshore wind farm’s supply chain will benefit directly from development of renewable energy in Poland, but will also have access to Ørsted’s global offshore wind project pipeline - he commented.
The online participants of the meeting had the opportunity to learn key data of the investment, as well as the schedules of works and purchasing procedures carried out in relations to development of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm.
The most important milestones of the investment are the offshore installation process to begin in 2025, then the so-called first power, i.e. the application of voltage from the first installed turbines planned for 2026, and in 2027 putting the power plant into operation which means starting its commercial use.
The formal aspects of procurement procedures conducted as part of a joint venture that PGE creates with Ørsted were presented by Dariusz Lociński, President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica. Agenda also included presentation of tools and principles used in the procurement process, including access to the purchasing portals of both investment partners - PGE and Ørsted. Finally, there was time to answer the most frequent questions there were asked in registration forms prior to the event.
We are in the process of preparing answers to the questions that participants had asked during the event. Soon they will be published on the website.
Watch a recording of the event