Construction of offshore wind farms in H1 2023 – how is the Baltic Sea performing?

WindEurope has summarised the development of offshore wind energy in Europe in the first half of 2023. How does the Baltic Sea look in comparison to Europe? Below we present details of the projects under construction during this period. Europe built 2.1 GW of new offshore wind in the first half of 2023, bringing its total offshore wind capacity to 32.4 GW. 13 wind farms were under construction in Europe, for the installation of foundations and turbines – representing a total 7.2 GW of new capacity. Final investment decisions were taken for a further 5 GW after delays last year. [...]

Helene Bøhler: European wind developers lining up to use new software Vind AI to develop offshore wind projects

BalticWind.EU has initiated the debate on how the green reindustrialization in Europe, implemented under the "Net-Zero Industry Act", should take place. In a series of interviews, podcasts and webinars, we are presenting the potential of various technologies that are key to the wind industry. We spoke to Helene Bøhler, Co-Founder & CEO at Vind, about the digitalization of wind farm design processes through an innovative AI-powered software platform. It empowers wind developers with access to relevant data, enabling informed decision-making and streamlining project iterations and design processes. By integrating AI technology, Vind AI expedites decision-making, enhances precision, accelerates project timelines, [...]

WindWorks in Riga: with a combined potential of 25 GW, Latvia and Estonia can be offshore leaders in the Baltic Sea

This year's WindWorks. Moving Energy conference in Riga was once again the venue for key discussions on offshore wind energy development in the Baltic Sea, with a particular focus on the potential of Latvia and Estonia. The event, of which BalticWind.EU was a media partner, was organised on 19 April by the Latvian and Estonian Wind Energy Associations (LWEA and EWPA) and the Danish Embassy in Riga in collaboration with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Riga and the Norwegian Embassy in Riga. Photo: BalticWind Among over 400 participants, panellists and special [...]

Ukraine has to win the war. It’s a prerequisite for the secure development of wind energy in the Baltic Sea

A long-term condition for harnessing the potential of more than 90 GW of wind energy in the Baltic is to guarantee peace and security, including military security, in the region. Without this, it will not be possible to build further large-scale projects that realise the EU's energy transition aspirations. These issues have never been as important for wind energy development in Europe as they are now. Exactly one year ago, Russia decided to start an open war against Ukraine. An unprovoked attack started a bloody conflict, shattering the sense of stability and peace in Europe. A brutal picture of Russian [...]

Ireneusz Zyska, Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment: 
The biggest challenge for the development of the sector is cost efficiency and profitability 
of projects

Pawel Wróbel. BalticWind.EU: More than a year ago, a sectoral agreement was signed for the development of offshore wind energy in Poland. What has been achieved since then? Ireneusz Zyska, Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment, Government Plenipotentiary for RES Development: For the optimal development of offshore wind energy in Poland, cooperation of the sector's stakeholders is crucial. These include: investors, developers, power producers, manufacturers
of components needed for the construction
of farms, various service providers, the national transmission system operator, users of the national power system, offshore installation and service ports, terminal operators, maritime administration, public administration bodies, scientific institutes, universities [...]

Pressing challenges presented by the current energy crisis among priorities of Swedish Presidency in the EU

The Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson presented the programme of the Swedish Presidency of the Council during the plenary session of the European Parliament today. Below we present priorities for energy, environment and climate of the Swedish Presidency from 1 January until 30 June 2023. Energy The EU must be well-equipped for next winter and to address challenges in subsequent years too. The Presidency is ready to act quickly and resolutely to meet the pressing challenges presented by the current energy crisis. The priorities will be to closely monitor developments in the energy markets and the implementation of measures, deal with any [...]

Polish power grids development plan 2023-2032 – a response to offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea

A Polish power grid operator (PSE) has presented a plan for the development of the transmission system until 2032. Offshore wind energy is one of the key areas of system transformation. It is followed by investments in infrastructure for power output from the Baltic Sea and its transmission to southern Poland.  "Development Plan for Meeting Current and Future Electricity Demand" for 2023-2032 has been agreed with the ERO president. The document indicates that the main investments planned by PSE are aimed at supporting, among others, the government's plan to build offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea. As pointed out [...]

Acceleration of clean and just transition to renewable energy needed to meet COP27 agreements

The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 closed on November 20th with an agreement to provide “loss and damage” funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters. “This outcome moves us forward” said Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary. “We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change.” Set against a difficult geopolitical backdrop, COP27 resulted in countries delivering a package of decisions that reaffirmed their commitment [...]

The COP27 climate conference has begun. Investments in renewable energy need to triple

Sunday 6 November saw the start of the COP27 Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The meeting, which will last until 18 November, takes place in the shadow of the ongoing energy crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as numerous extreme weather events around the world such as floods and droughts.  As Sameh Shoukr, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of COP27, highlights in a letter to participants:  "We gather this year at a critical time of cascading risks and overlapping crises, multilateralism is facing a challenge due to geopolitical situations, spiraling food and energy [...]

Virginijus Sinkevičius: Eutrophication remains a major environmental threat to the Baltic Sea and affects the entire ecosystem

Paweł Wróbel: The Nature Restoration Law will set restoration targets and obligations across a broad range of ecosystems at land and sea in the EU. How is this to work in practice for marine areas? Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries: The proposal includes targets on marine ecosystems. We will be looking in particular at important fish spawning and nursery habitats, habitats of iconic marine species such as dolphins, sharks and seabirds, as well as habitats that deliver significant benefits for climate change mitigation such as seagrasses or sediment bottoms. Restoring marine ecosystems will allow fish stocks [...]

Energy sector’s responsibility in the face of war in Ukraine

Last week, when Russia brutally attacked Ukraine triggering a war just across the border of the European Union, is a moment in history when the development of the offshore wind industry must also be viewed through the prism of these tragic events. Ukraine's independence has been compromised, and so has Europe's security. In this context, it is impossible not to mention the role of Russian oil and gas companies. They play a very important role in Kremlin's politics and now - at war. Manipulation of gas and oil prices and financing Putin's regime are the tip of what needs not [...]

Jerzy Buzek: We will not win only with electrification but we will certainly lose without it

– Electrification will most probably not be a silver bullet: it will not be in itself sufficient in decarbonising some of industrial processes or may not be the best for all transport solutions. In other words: we will not win only with electrification but we will certainly lose without it – said Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament, former President of the European Parliament and Chair of ITRE Committee, in an interview for BalticWind.EU. […]

Jerzy Buzek: 2022 will be the “year of delivery” of the European Green Deal

– 2022 will be – in fact – the “year of delivery” of the European Green Deal with the ongoing works both on the “Fit for 55” and Gas Packages in the European Parliament and in the Council. Therefore, I expect a lot of heated debates on many important topics – which of them will be crucial? I would point out four of them: soaring energy prices, extension of the EU ETS to transport and buildings, the role of natural gas as a transition fuel and last but not least – hydrogen economy and its [...]

Giles Dickson: The wind industry is ready to deliver the huge volumes needed to electrify our economies

In our latest interview with Giles Dickson, we ask about the Electric City 2021 conference held in Copenhagen and the challenges of wind energy development in Europe. The interview appeared on BalticWind.EU latest report straight from Copenhagen.  Which topics brought wind industry representatives to Copenhagen this year? Renewables are now around 40% of the electricity we consume in Europe. That’s not bad. But electricity is still only one-quarter of all the energy we consume. Most of our heating and cooling, transport and industry are still powered by fossil fuels. If we want to decarbonise our economies and be less [...]

MEP Morten Petersen: The streamlining of all regulations of the Fit for 55 package is important now

BalticWind.EU informed, that MEPs set out recommendations for speeding up the deployment of offshore wind, in a report adopted on Tuesday. The report voted in the Industry, Research and Energy committee (ITRE) in response to a European Commission communication stresses that meeting the 2030 and 2050 targets require speeding up the deployment of offshore wind energy. It will be put to vote in the full House on the 17th of January, 2022. We ask a few questions to MEP Morten Petersen (Renew, DK) rapporteur in ITRE. […]

MEP Jerzy Buzek for BalticWind.EU: The end does not justify the means!

The development of offshore wind energy in EU countries is associated with the need to speed up the issuance of permits for the construction of wind farms. The offshore wind industry has long stressed that the lack of fast and common procedures is one of the main bottlenecks that could prevent ambitious plans for 2030 and 2050 from being achieved. In this respect, in any event, national law must comply with the EU energy legal framework and State aid rules. This was also the subject of the European Commission's response, published on 8 November this year. to a parliamentary [...]

BalticWind.EU Quarterly Country Report on Poland Q3 2021

Dear Readers, We are pleased to present you with the first of a series of quarterly reports summarizing the offshore wind energy market in a country approach. We are starting with Poland. The choice is not accidental - in the passing quarter, a sector agreement was signed in Warsaw. It sets a roadmap for preparations to build a new sector of the economy. We are convinced that despite many difficulties and challenges, that are yet to be faced by the wind energy sector in Poland, the day of signing, i.e. 15 September, will go down in history as a [...]

Newsroom: GE Renewable Energy and PKN ORLEN sign MOU on offshore wind in Poland

GE Renewable Energy and PKN ORLEN announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore ways to work together to support the development of offshore wind projects in Poland, a country expected to award up to 10.9 GW of offshore wind projects by 2030 and up to 28 GW of offshore wind by 2050. The agreement can help accelerate the energy transition in Poland by helping the country take full advantage of its offshore wind resources. GE Renewable Energy is already an active player in the Polish wind market with over 300 onshore wind turbines delivering 900 [...]

Analysis: Fit-for-55% package recognises offshore wind as key to deliver EU’s climate and energy targets

The “fit for 55% package” adopted by the European Commission on July 14th. clearly indicates that boosting renewable sources of energy, in particular wind, is essential to deliver EU’s climate target. Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said during the presentation of the legislative package that when it comes to renewable energy the European Union has been a true pioneer. “Our early start in this sector has already paid off. Renewables prices have fallen dramatically. The European renewables industry, especially in offshore wind, is a global leader” – said Commissioner Simson. [...]

BalticWind.EU will award TOP 20 leaders of the Offshore Wind Industry in the Baltic Sea

Today, on Global Wind Day, BalticWind.EU is proud to announce the first Baltic Offshore Wind Awards, to recognize the top 20 leaders of our industry who have had the biggest impact on offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea region. The award winners will be announced at the Final Gala in December this year. Speeding up the process of wind farm investments deployment in the Baltic Sea countries will not be possible without leaders of this process. At BalticWind.EU, we closely follow the activities of those who are most active and influential. Today we would like to share the [...]

BalticWind.EU – one month after launch

Dear readers, a month ago we have launched BalticWind.EU platform. Having started this project, every day we experience how exciting the development of wind energy in the Baltic Sea region is. With all the aspects which we are informing about – like growing role of ports, grids development challenges, issues of military security of sea areas, cooperation with fishermen, the need to prepare human resources for the wind industry, revision of regulatory framework at EU level, and many others – we see that offshore wind development is becoming one of the key pillars of energy transition is the EU. [...]

Analysis: Cross-border cooperation in the EU will be strengthened according to leaked revised renewable energy directive (REDIII)

European Commission will present the package “fit for 55%” this summer. According to the latest agenda of the Commission it is scheduled on July 14th. All legislative proposals need to provide a framework for delivering increased GHG reduction target for 2030 as well as climate neutrality by 2050. BalticWind.EU has seen a leaked version of the revised renewable energy directive (REDIII). First of all, being one of the main elements of the package it should deliver a higher 2030 RES target. On the basis of the European Commission’s impact assessment released in September 2020 most probably, the EU-wide target [...]

Today is World Hydrography Day

Every year on 21 June we celebrate World Hydrography Day. This year the focus is on autonomous technologies – aerial, surface and underwater survey drones as well as autonomous ships. Hydrographic  works are essential for wind offshore development projects, including operation and maintenance of wind farms. Hydrography can play the key role in support of autonomous technologies in order to strengthen safe and efficient navigation of ships, as well as other activity associated with the sea, including i.e. environmental protection and management, national marine spatial data infrastructures, maritime defence and security, coastal zone management. This year we celebrate the 100th [...]

LEAK European Commission: Offshore wind will be one of the pillars of RES development in the EU

[Download link at the end of article] Leaked revised renewable directive (REDIII) shows that offshore wind will be one of the pillars of RES development in the EU. The leaked document puts strong focus on cross border projects, joint cooperation of MSs within each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and 2040, one-stop-shop for permitting per sea basin, as part of the specific measures to foster deployment of offshore renewable energy. Download the leaked document here: Revision RED III On Monday, we will release our analysis of what changes for offshore wind the REDIII will introduce. [...]

Electrification Alliance: Obstacles to wind and electricity grid deployment in the EU have to be removed

Removal of obstacles especially in relation to permitting is one of the recommendations published by an Electrification Alliance. Members of the alliance, including WindEurope and Eurelectric, released its priorities for “fit for 55%” package. Recommendations for the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive indicates that removal of obstacles to solar, wind and electricity grid deployment should include developing guidelines and benchmarks for good practices to support Member States in the implementation of the current RED II provisions with the necessary respect for environmental considerations. Joint Position Paper of the Electrification Alliance has been released on 1st of June ahead of [...]

Welcome message from Paweł Wróbel Managing Director of BalticWind.EU

With great pleasure and satisfaction I welcome you today to BalticWind.EU. After many weeks of preparation, we give you an innovative platform that aims first and foremost to create opportunities. BalticWind.EU is the space for the dialogue of industry representatives, professionals, start-ups founders, analytics, journalists, academic and research centres. Welcome to the #BalticWindNetwork. https://youtu.be/xHDiCVCOOZc Cooperation – a key to unlock the enormous potential of the Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea, as the second largest basin for offshore wind power in the EU has incredible potential for investments of up to 93 GW by 2050. It may be achieved in [...]

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