Poland’s £5 billion offshore wind farm project is getting closer and closer to the start of construction, which is a huge step forward for the country.
In the Baltic Sea, preparations are already being made for Baltica 2, a joint venture between PGE and Ørsted. When it is up and running, it will provide around 1.5GW of clean electricity, which is enough to power 2.5 million Polish households.
Before construction can begin, up to 10,000 rocks and other tiny obstacles on the sea bottom must be moved to create room for the installation of foundations and subsea cable.
The Olympic Electra ship is being used to do this with a picking spread, and it should be done by early 2026.
Ulrik Lange, vice president and managing director of the Baltica 2 project at Ørsted, said: “The boulder relocation operation has a direct impact on the safety and efficiency of the subsequent stages.
“As the leader of the offshore part of the Baltica 2 project and a company that has built over 30 offshore wind farms around the world, we are very excited to be embarking on advanced work in the Baltic Sea.”
It will be possible to put up scour protection and turbine foundations in 2026, as well as inter-array and export cables in 2027, after the site is clear.
Bartosz Fedurek, CEO of PGE Baltica, said: “The Baltica 2 offshore wind farm project is now indeed ‘going offshore’.
“We have planned to install the foundations and other components in 2026 and 2027, and the boulder relocation campaign will allow us to actually start construction work at sea.
“We have to move about 10,000 objects of various sizes. Several dozen people from the ship’s crew are directly involved in the entire process, not counting its service, supervision by investors, and specialist teams that took part in reconnaissance of the bottom at the research stage.”