By 2030, Europe will be short of all key components, services and human resources for the sector. For some segments of the supply chain, bottlenecks are already visible today or will become apparent in 1-2 years. The Polish industry has great potential to be a significant player in the global offshore wind supply chain. However, without a solid, strategic industrial policy, there is a risk that we will be left behind. Therefore, the Wind Industry Hub Foundation has developed assumptions for Polish offshore wind industry development strategy – the only and first such comprehensive roadmap for national industrial policy in the offshore wind sector in Poland. Industry consultation of the study will take place during the PWEA Offshore Wind Poland 2024 conference.
The Wind Industry Hub Foundation, established by PWEA, together with experts has developed the Polish offshore wind industry development strategy [“Polska strategia rozwoju przemysłu wiatrowych”], which aims to increase the participation of national contractors in offshore wind projects carried out in the Polish economic zone of the Baltic Sea. The main premise of the document, however, is to turn the wind industry into a flywheel for the Polish economy. The authors of the strategy have mapped the ecosystem of the domestic contractor market and proposed specific implementation programmes, which will guarantee the participation of the Polish industry in the global offshore wind energy supply chain.
– It has to be successful in Poland. Industry has been the core of our economy for decades, contributing one fifth of GDP and recording one of the most stable and dynamic growth rates in the EU. The value of foreign investment in Poland has more than tripled in the last 20 years, and in that time Poland’s cumulative GDP growth has been 100%, with the EU average at 27%. Seeing opportunities emerging with new technologies, let’s finally stop talking about the domestic supply chain potential of offshore wind energy and start implementing it – says Dominika Taranko, Managing Director and Vice President of Wind Industry Hub.
Wind energy is a key technology for an effective and timely transformation of our energy system, as well as for ensuring the competitiveness and resilience of the Polish economy. Green transformation will not succeed without a strong industrial base and local supply chain. It is crucial that the beneficiaries of this process are our domestic companies, which have huge potential to be a significant player in the global wind energy supply chain.
– The new industry is a huge opportunity for Polish companies involved in the production and supply chain for onshore and offshore wind. Domestic entrepreneurs have the potential to soon offer major structural components, i.e. wind towers, turbine components, offshore transformer stations. However, urgent support and decisive investment activities are needed.What is needed is a conscious industrial strategy of the state, which will prioritise the development of factories, projects, industry education or obtaining financing – argues Janusz Gajowiecki, president of the Polish Wind Energy Association.
The Polish investment programme in offshore wind farms, estimated at several hundred billion zlotys, is not only the largest investment in post-war Poland, but also a key element of the country’s energy transformation. According to the assumptions of the draft National Energy and Climate Plan, released for public consultation in October this year, in 2040 as much as 136.9 TWh of the 195.3 TWh of total energy produced in the power sector is to be wind – that is 70%.
The existence of a huge market for components, infrastructure and services is therefore undeniable. According to analyses by the authors of the industrial strategy, by 2030 Europe will be short of all key components, services and personnel for the sector, and for some segments of the supply chain, bottlenecks are already visible today or will become apparent in one to two years. In parallel, China’s global dominance in the wind industry is increasing, and with it the balance of trade between Europe and China and other markets in the wind sector is suffering. The European Commission, realising the risks and consequences of a loss of competitiveness, is to focus in its next term on a green industrial order and the reindustrialisation of Europe in a low-carbon model. Institutional and financial support for green investments is to increase the EU’s raw material, energy and economic security by building a resilient and competitive local industry.
The authors of the Polish offshore wind industry development strategy discuss the challenges of the national supply chain and propose systemic solutions, addressing issues of financing, education, innovation and security. An institutional roadmap and a business case for recommended development models within the identified priority programmes are also part of the study.
The first industry consultations of the strategy will take place during the PWEA Offshore Wind Poland 2024 conference. State institutions involved in offshore wind issues, employers’ associations, university representatives and industry representatives have been invited to participate in the market dialogue.
Poland today has no viable alternative when it comes to non-emitting and stable large-scale generation sources available at short notice. Offshore Wind Poland 2024 is the largest conference dedicated to offshore wind energy, where key politicians, policy makers and sector leaders shape solutions and cooperation frameworks for offshore wind development.
BalticWind.EU is a media partner of the conference. Register at www.konferencja-offshore.pl
Source: PWEA
