Polenergia and Equinor have signed another key contract for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farm projects. The contract is for horizontal drilling in the landfall area. The contractor for the work for both projects is the Dutch company Visser & Smit Hanab. The signed agreement is yet again bringing Polenergia and Equinor closer to the next stage of the projects – the start of construction.
Visser & Smit Hanab, as part of the signed contract, will perform four horizontal directional drillings (HDD) and install four cable ducts to install export cables and bring power onshore. The company has extensive experience and has specialised in trenchless technology, as well as above and below ground pipeline and cable infrastructure for more than 150 years.
This is a further contract following those concluded on 30 August 2024, which include both the supply and installation of key components required for the construction of wind farms.
One of the important elements of the contracts is the contract for the production of transition components for offshore wind turbines, concluded with the consortium of Smulders Project Belgium NV and Sif Netherlands BV. The contract covers the delivery of a total of 100 transition elements that connect the foundations to the turbine towers, 50 for each farm. Production of these elements is expected to start in the first half of 2025, with completion scheduled for mid-2026. The total value of this contract is estimated to be around €328 million and will depend on changes in the price of materials, such as steel, which may affect the final cost.
Another contract, signed with Enprom sp. z o.o., is for the installation of export cables onshore. The work will include the construction of cable corridors and the installation of export cables that will transmit energy from offshore farms to land. The work is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2024 and be completed in July 2026. The value of this contract is approximately PLN 172.6 million, with possible adjustments depending on additional work that may be commissioned during the course of implementation.
The last contract signed concerns the design and construction of offshore transformer stations. Belgian company Iemants NV will handle the construction of two transformer stations, one for each farm. The contract provides for comprehensive design, procurement of materials and turnkey construction of the substations. The schedule provides for completion of the work in October 2026 for OWF Bałtyk II and in April 2027 for Bałtyk III. The value of this contract is estimated at around EUR 350 million and, as with previous contracts, the remuneration will be indexed based on changes in material prices.
About the Baltic offshore wind farm projects
The Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms are being developed in the first phase of offshore wind energy development in Poland. The projects are located in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea, between 22 and 37 km from the coastline. The first energy from the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 wind farms is expected to flow into the grid as early as 2027, the commercial phase of their operation is planned from 2028.
Source: Polenergia
