Poland’s late entry into offshore wind draws foreign investors to Baltic Sea
Donald Tusk’s government in drive to move away from coal dependence and bolster energy security
Some 20km off Poland’s Baltic coast, five wind turbines rise high above the waves, with their red-tipped blades cutting through the sea air.
They look like an oddity, but Poland’s first offshore turbines will be joined by dozens more over the next year as an expansion of wind farms reshapes the country’s energy landscape and attracts foreign investors.
Poland has been a relative laggard in the transition to clean energy and depends on coal — considered the dirtiest fossil fuel — for just over half of its electricity generation compared with 12 per cent for the EU in 2023.
Warsaw previously prioritised the interests of its powerful coal industry over EU climate targets, despite strong winds and shallow waters along the Baltic coast making Poland an attractive location for offshore wind projects.
But the offshore sector has been gaining support from the government, which has also been motivated by the need for energy security after the country stopped importing Russian oil and gas following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“It wasn’t a question of wanting to stay away from Poland, but for a very long time the regulatory framework just wasn’t in place here,” said Toby Edmonds, executive vice-president for offshore projects at Northland Power.
The Canadian energy group is partnering Poland’s state-controlled oil and gas group Orlen in the €4.7bn Baltic Power project — the most advanced of three flagship ventures pairing domestic companies with foreign partners who provide technology expertise.
Speaking last month during a tour of the first cluster of installed Baltic Power turbines, Prime Minister Donald Tusk hailed the project as a “gigantic investment” that would bring Poland “closer to full energy security and independence”.
Orlen holds 51 per cent of the venture — with Northland owning the rest — which aims to activate its 76 planned turbines before the end of 2026.
Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, is constructing a slightly larger wind farm with state-owned utility PGE nearby, while Polish company Polenergia is developing an offshore project with Norway’s Equinor.
The ventures are set to provide almost 6GW gigawatts of capacity by 2030 and, as more projects come on board, Tusk’s government aims for 18GW by 2040, equivalent to roughly half of Europe’s existing capacity.
Poland’s wind energy association has estimated that the country could eventually have 33GW and cover more than 50 per cent of the country’s existing electricity demand through offshore wind energy.
“The previous government was generally thinking about coal and not renewable resources,” said energy minister Miłosz Motyka, adding that the Tusk administration had created better conditions for foreign companies to support Poland’s energy transition.
About 15km down the coast, Ørsted and PGE’s Baltica 2 venture is progressing despite financial problems at the Danish company, which announced a $9.4bn rights issue last month. US President Donald Trump’s hostility to offshore wind has also dented confidence in the sector among some investors.
In late July Polish contractors began drilling cable trenches behind a tourist beach to allow offshore turbines to supply power via lines running beneath the seabed, and construction at sea is due to start next year. Ørsted said the project “will not be impacted by the rights issue”.
As a late entrant — Denmark inaugurated the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991 — Poland is getting more modern and efficient technology. Baltic Power’s turbines can each generate 15MW, compared with 4MW for units installed at Northland’s Dutch wind farm a decade ago.
“We’re now using the largest and latest model of turbines available outside of China,” Edmonds said, while sailing around Poland’s new offshore turbines. “Poland is getting a real transfer of knowledge and experience in an industry that has been getting better and better.”
Other foreign companies are also moving in. Germany’s RWE is pursuing its own Polish offshore project, while Siemens Gamesa agreed in July to supply 26 turbines for a project by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Portugal’s EDP Renewables and France’s Engie.
The offshore wind drive is also spurring activity in the wider supply chain, with foreign companies heeding a call by Tusk for the “re-Polonisation” of the economy and support for domestic players.
Poland “can become an offshore hub for the Baltic region and the rest of Europe,” said Nils de Baar, from Danish manufacturer Vestas, which opened a Polish factory that produces nacelles for offshore turbines this year, and is considering adding a facility for offshore blades.
Rebecca Cooke, who oversees drilling for Ørsted, said local subcontractors were adapting quickly despite their lack of offshore experience, vindicating its decision not to take the “easy option” of bringing in international contractors.
“If your background is land-to-land drilling and suddenly you’ve got also to deal with the sea, it’s a big challenge,” she said.
Poland’s Baltic coast is also set to host the country’s first nuclear power plant, under a 2022 deal struck by the previous government with US companies Westinghouse and Bechtel. The plant is scheduled to become operational in 2036, and will use seawater to cool down its reactors.
“Poland’s energy transition, and its goals for decarbonisation and energy security, have created favourable conditions,” said Dan Lipman, a senior Westinghouse executive handling nuclear projects.