An explainer on the specialist ships that build Baltic offshore wind: jack-ups with 3,200-tonne cranes, Cadeler's EUR 2.7 billion backlog, heavy-lift newbuilds due in 2028, and Poland's plan for its first cable-laying vessel.
A EUR 100 million EIB loan will adapt Klaipėda's cruise terminal for NATO vessels and fund shore power, green hydrogen and offshore wind quays in a EUR 201 million programme due by end-2027.
A tracker of the Bałtyk 2 and 3 offshore wind build: rock placement, first foundations, substation topsides, the onshore grid link and the milestones still ahead before first power in 2027.
Estonia and Latvia have no offshore turbines yet, but the ELWIND and Liivi projects now have design contracts, a seal survey and a year of wind data. Here is where they stand and what comes next.
Skyborn Renewables and the EIB announced financial close on Gennaker, a 976.5 MW offshore wind farm off Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with €2.1 billion of debt from 16 banks and the EIB. Commercial operation is targeted for the end of 2028.
A roundup of the early-2026 milestones across Poland's three offshore wind projects, from Baltic Power's fishermen compensation to Baltica 2's seabed works and Baltic East's auction price, with a look at what comes next.
Four early-2026 forums, from the Hamburg North Sea Summit to a 47-region declaration in Stockholm, converged on cross-border offshore planning. A roundup of what they decided and what the Baltic can borrow.
Around 600 wind-sector representatives toured German North Sea wind farms aboard the FRS Halunder Jet on 31 August; Husum Wind and WAB now plan a repeat excursion in 2028.
The European Investment Bank has granted Elia Transmission Belgium a 1 billion euro green credit facility for phase two of the Princess Elisabeth Island, its largest energy infrastructure loan in the Benelux. The hub is due to connect Belgium's second offshore wind zone from 2031.
The German cabinet has adopted the draft WindSeeG amendment, sending changes to offshore auction design, realisation deadlines, resilience criteria and environmental rules into the parliamentary process.
COLI Group has completed a six-month transport of 14 power transformers from GE Vernova's Turkish factory to the onshore site for Poland's Baltica 2 offshore wind farm, using three vessels, two ports and temporary structures over bridges too weak to carry the load.
Subsea Cable Assets has begun renting out cable carousels, starting with 4,000 and 6,000-tonne systems already contracted to a European client.
NextOcean will fit its WavePredictor motion radar to the ESVAGT NJORD, a service operations vessel working at the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, to widen safe transfer windows.
A study for the Renewable Energies Hamburg cluster puts the sector at around 31,000 jobs and 5.3 billion euros in gross value added, with wind the largest segment at about 13,000 jobs.
From reef panels on a floating platform to ultrasonic bat sensors in Latvian waters and GPS-tagged gulls off Finland, offshore wind's environmental surveys are becoming applied marine science.
With 2.6 GW installed, Poland's first dedicated offshore installation port and a 6 GW project pipeline offshore, West Pomerania has the infrastructure. Whether it becomes an industrial base or a transit hub depends on local content.
Baltic Power's construction ends in the second half of 2026 and the Łeba base pivots to roughly 30 years of operations. The open question is whether it becomes a single-farm service base or the anchor of a Baltic O&M cluster.
Germany added 3,948 MW of wind between January and July 2026, up 53 per cent year on year, with 1,194 MW of it offshore after a year with no offshore commissioning at all.
Ørsted will reinstate dividends for the 2026 financial year with a first payout in 2027, following a USD 9.35bn rights issue and a completed divestment programme.
Turkey has released a draft 1 GW offshore wind YEKA tender covering four Aegean areas, with the auction due in Q1 2027 and a 5 GW target for 2035.
All 64 Vestas 15 MW turbines are installed at EnBW's 960 MW He Dreiht, Germany's largest offshore wind farm, built without subsidy and backed by corporate PPAs.
After Germany's offshore auction drew zero bids, the WindSeeG draft proposes 2,000-4,800 MW annual volumes, two-sided CfDs and 35-year operating lives. Industry says it does not go far enough.
With 111 foundations in place at Baltica 2, more than 400 secondary steel units follow — around 75 per cent of them made in Poland — in work running to the end of 2026.
Abstracts for WindEurope's Annual Event 2027 in Copenhagen, 20-22 April, close on 4 September. Commercial content will be rejected; Startup Pavilion applications are open.
BWO hosts an online panel on 26 August with Peter Liese MEP, Steelwind Nordenham, Salzgitter and Ørsted on what ETS revision means for offshore wind steel.
DNV has certified MacGregor's Horizon gangway for floating-to-floating personnel transfer, using a redesigned tip and LiDAR motion tracking to connect two independently moving vessels.
ABB will deliver four 3.5 MW Azipod units and a full power system for Grand Tour, a 230-metre semi-submersible built to move offshore converter stations for Allseas.
A DNV-witnessed trial at Esbjerg has shown Stillstrom's cable control system managing offshore charging automatically while a vessel holds position on DP.
PGE and Ørsted have installed all 111 monopile foundations at the 1.5 GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm on schedule. Secondary steel work now runs to the end of 2026, with turbines due in 2027.
CS Wind Offshore has replaced manual flame-cutting with a magnet-mounted CNC gantry machine for cable penetrations in transition pieces, achieving 0.3 mm tolerance.
BrestPort has secured over €58 million from France 2030 to convert its offshore renewables terminal for floating wind assembly, with Lorient taking on mooring logistics and maintenance.
The 23rd and final caisson is in place at the Princess Elisabeth Energy Island off Belgium, completing foundation works. Cable connections follow in 2027–2028, with full completion due in 2031.
The BWO is holding an online talk on 26 August 2026 on the EU's proposed emissions-trading reform and what it means for steel procurement and the offshore wind supply chain.
Germany's 70 GW offshore target now hinges less on ambition than on money. Three reforms — CfD auctions, the AgNes network-charge overhaul and cross-border grid links — are reshaping the economics, with clear lessons for the Baltic.
"First power to the grid" sounds like flipping a switch, but it is the visible tip of offshore wind commissioning — a sequence running from seabed surveys and cable trenching to onshore substation tests and grid-operator compliance. Baltic Power and Baltica 2 show how it works.
RWE will receive USD 1.22 billion for returning its US offshore wind leases, the latest project buy-back under the Trump administration. Capital freed from cancelled US commitments could flow toward European and Baltic pipelines instead.
Germany's BMWE has opened consultation on the 2026 WindSeeG amendment, introducing two-sided CfDs and a 35-year operating life. The offshore association BWO backs the direction but says the two-stage tender model must not turn price protection into a last resort.
Poland's first purpose-built offshore wind installation port anchors a supply chain forming along the West Pomeranian coast. A look at how installation terminals work and why they set the pace of the build-out.
With Baltic Power online, the PGE–Ørsted Baltica programme is Poland's next offshore frontier — from the Choczewo substation to 150 km of seabed cable routes and 107 turbines bound for Gdańsk.
Sweden has rejected Eolus's Vaestvind and Najaderna offshore wind projects on defence grounds, part of a round rejecting 11 projects and a shift to tenders.
RWE has sent first power to the German grid from Nordseecluster A, the 660 MW opening phase of its 1.6 GW North Sea offshore wind project.
After a failed 2025 auction and suspended 2026 rounds, Germany has moved to reset its offshore wind market — through a North Sea investment pact, regulatory protection for existing projects, a Bundesrat reform push and cross-border cooperation that increasingly runs through the Baltic.
Ports, factories and a growing supply chain are turning Poland's West Pomeranian coast into the industrial base for the country's offshore wind expansion.
Poland's first offshore wind farm has gone from empty seabed to first power in under two years. Here is how Baltic Power was built — and what comes after the turbines are switched on.
Innovate UK combines a £10m competition, a £5m Wind Innovation Hub and the £12m first phase of the LSIC centre, with Vestas as launch partner.
Saitec has installed shell-filled habitat elements and an oyster, mussel and algae aquaculture pilot on its DemoSATH floating wind demonstrator.
The Norwegian cluster's 18–20 August visit takes suppliers to the Świnoujście Offshore Terminal and other West Pomeranian sites, with B2B meetings included.
Szczecin and Świnoujście are developing into major offshore wind bases, with ORLEN Neptun's installation terminal already booked at 70% of capacity.
Wood Thilsted and COP Frontier have launched Neretek, whose BC90 foundation targets the 60–90 m depth gap between fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind.
The European Commission has cleared a €63 billion French scheme backing eleven offshore wind farms with up to 11.1 GW of capacity under two-way CfDs.
Bundesnetzagentur data show German wind additions accelerating in the first half of 2026 on an offshore comeback, while new solar installations decline.
Poland's first offshore wind farm has delivered its first electricity to the national grid. Baltic Power, with 54 of 76 turbines installed, is due for completion this autumn.
Baltic Power has installed 50 of its 76 Vestas 15 MW turbines. Mandatory testing and commissioning works begin in the coming weeks, ahead of completion in H2 2026.
Vattenfall has installed the first monopile for Nordlicht I in the German North Sea, starting offshore construction of what it calls Germany's largest offshore wind project.
Vattenfall has installed the first monopile at Nordlicht I, opening the main construction phase of the 1.6 GW cluster that will be Germany's largest offshore wind project.
Norway's Føn Energy Services has signed a multi-year O&M contract for Baltic Power, Poland's first offshore wind farm, covering all subsea assets ahead of its 2026 launch.
HUSUM WIND and WAB will run what they call Europe's largest offshore field trip on 31 August, taking around 500 participants past up to 25 North Sea wind farms and converter stations.
The Netherlands has opened the tender for the 1 GW IJmuiden Ver Gamma-A offshore wind site, with €4.75bn in subsidy available and applications running from 26 November to 10 December 2026.
Baltic Power, Poland's first offshore wind farm, is set to start generating electricity in the second half of 2026, with 76 turbines off Łeba and Choczewo covering around 3% of national demand.
Amazon and Skyborn Renewables have signed a 600 MW power purchase agreement for the Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, the largest single corporate PPA in Germany and a decisive step toward financing the country's biggest Baltic wind project.
Baltic Power, developed by ORLEN and Northland Power, has installed 50 of its 76 Vestas 15 MW turbines off Choczewo and Leba. Poland's first offshore wind farm is now testing for grid integration ahead of full operation, with a planned capacity of around 1.2 GW.
A new study by Menon Economics and TGS | 4C estimates European offshore wind supported about 180,000 full-time jobs and EUR 26 billion in gross value added in 2025, with each direct job supporting roughly two more through the wider supply chain.
GWEC's 2026 report urges governments to fast-track offshore wind, warning that auctions slowed to 11.4 GW in 2025 even as 25 GW of projects sit ready to build.
Grid operator 50Hertz will have an offshore converter platform built at the NEPTUN shipyard in Rostock, in contracts worth up to EUR 2.5 billion that could create more than 500 jobs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Germany's Bundesrat has adopted a resolution backing offshore wind reform, taking up BWO proposals for an indexed two-sided CfD auction design, cross-border cooperation and a route to return non-viable awarded sites.
More than 400 additional steel structures for the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm are on their way to the installation port at Rønne, with over 75% supplied by Polish manufacturers.
Gasgrid Finland, Nordion Energi, OX2 and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will study an offshore hydrogen pipeline linking Finland, Sweden and Germany by 2030 to turn Baltic offshore wind into a hydrogen market.
Heavy-transport specialist Roll Group will use Spinergie's vessel-tracking Supply Chain module to map offshore wind logistics and spot new opportunities as the sector scales.
An Ørsted survey presented at PSEW 2026 found strong Polish support for renewables but widespread misperceptions about the cost and efficiency of offshore wind.
PGE Baltica has signed a contract with a consortium led by PROJMORS ASE Group to design the onshore grid connection for the roughly 1.3 GW Baltica 9+ offshore wind project, with power routed to the Krzemienica substation.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin-Świnoujście ports authority have signed a letter of intent to study expanding the Świnoujście Offshore Terminal, Poland's first offshore wind installation terminal, one year after it opened.
Metsähallitus has used GPS tracking of the globally threatened Baltic gull to map feeding areas and flight paths around its planned Ebba offshore wind farm in Finland.
DNV has certified the third BSH milestone for RWE's 660 MW Nordseecluster A, clearing the German North Sea project for turbine installation.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin–Świnoujście ports authority have signed a letter of intent to expand Poland's first offshore wind installation terminal after a strong first year.
With Baltic hybrid threats rising, Poland is moving to formally classify offshore wind farms as critical infrastructure, the PSEW says ahead of its 2026 conference.
Poland's largest wind conference, PSEW 2026, ran 8-10 June in Świnoujście, spotlighting West Pomerania — the country's wind leader at 2.6 GW and around 130% renewables self-sufficient.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin-Świnoujście ports signed a letter of intent to expand the Świnoujście Offshore Terminal, a year after Poland's first offshore installation hub opened.
Germany's Bundesnetzagentur has shielded existing offshore wind projects from planned generator network charges, drawing praise from BWO — which also published a study finding such charges would be ineffective and ultimately costlier for the federal government.
Skyborn Renewables has appointed Michael Klingele as COO, effective 1 July 2026, to lead global operations and project delivery across its offshore wind portfolio, including the flagship Gennaker project in the German Baltic Sea.
A UK safety investigation has traced a fire aboard the offshore wind service vessel Kommandor Susan to non-genuine bearings installed during a 2019 overhaul, the MAIB reported in 2025.
Jumbo Maritime has ordered two new L-Class heavy lift vessels from China's Dajin Heavy Industry, each equipped with dual Huisman 1,200-tonne cranes, with deliveries scheduled for 2028 and 2029.
Ignitis Renewables hosted 150 participants from over 20 Lithuanian communities in Kaunas, sharing EUR 1.3 million in community grants and running energy education workshops for young people.
Cadeler reported EUR 125M Q1 2026 revenue, nearly double the prior year, driven by a ten-vessel fleet and a EUR 2.7B order backlog, while maintaining full-year guidance.
A FESOM-C model study explicitly simulating 692 North Sea monopiles at metre-scale finds wind farm arrays create basin-wide tidal disruptions, with turbine layout playing a key role in cumulative impact.
Germany's BWO association is calling for a voluntary offshore wind site return mechanism covering up to 16 GW and EUR 50 billion in project value blocked by grid delays.
Smulders has completed the first load-out of suspended internal platform cages for Baltica 2 in Swinoujscie, supporting the 1.5 GW PGE-Orsted project off the Polish coast.
New UK legislation in force from 21 May 2026 gives offshore wind developers a wider range of environmental compensation options, from seabird colony protection to native oyster restoration.
Wind Energy Ireland's 18-point action plan for 2026 targets a September planning decision, finalised grid agreements for east-coast projects, and state investment in port capacity.
PSEW's position paper draws on European data to show that offshore wind farms can operate alongside fishing fleets and coastal tourism without significant conflict.
Polenergia has installed the first turbine foundations at the Bałtyk 2 and 3 offshore wind farms (1.44 GW combined) in Q1 2026, marking a key milestone for Poland's largest-ever offshore wind development co-built with Equinor.
Ignitis Group has announced a EUR 2.5–3.0 billion Strategic Plan for 2026–2029 centred on green flexibility technologies, grid expansion, and a value-over-volume investment approach.
ARP S.A. and the TFK Group have signed letters of intent with PGE Baltica and ORLEN Neptun to cooperate on submarine cable installation for Baltic offshore wind, using a Cable Laying Vessel that the Polish partners plan to build.
ARP S.A. and Grupa TFK have signed letters of intent with PGE Baltica and ORLEN Neptun to cooperate on Poland's first Cable Laying Vessel, targeting the growing Baltic Sea offshore wind cable installation market.
All-Energy 2026 drew a record 13,300+ visitors to Glasgow in its 25th anniversary year, with the UK Minister for Energy pledging to go further and faster on clean energy deployment.
Modern offshore wind turbines are achieving capacity factors of 40–50%, debunking common myths about the reliability of offshore wind power in Poland, according to PSEW.
Baltic Power has opened its first recruitment round for the operational phase of Poland's 1.2 GW offshore wind farm, with roles at the Leba service base and in Warsaw.
The 18th Baltic Business Forum in Świnoujście addressed offshore wind, energy security and Polish-Ukrainian cooperation, with Deputy Minister Eliza Zeidler outlining plans for the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk.
Latvenergo Group invested a record €792 million in 2025, with over €548 million going to wind and solar projects across the Baltic States, as the company pressed ahead with a 1,144 MW approved renewable pipeline.
GWEC's latest supply-side report shows a record 178 GW of wind capacity was installed globally in 2025, a 40% jump, with all top five manufacturers by annual volume being Chinese for the first time.
European electricity prices exceeded €100/MWh across most markets in the first week of May, driven by a sharp drop in wind output in Germany and France and rising CO₂ prices.