Poland may become one of the leaders in the development of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea, with a potential estimated at up to 28 GW until 2050. Adam Guibourgé – Czetwertyński, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, said in his first video column for BalticWind.EU about the most important elements of the sector’s development in Poland.
Wind energy will play a special role in the decarbonisation of the Polish energy sector, currently dependent on coal.
“The development of renewable energy sources is one of the key pillars of our new future and zero emission energy system that we want to build over two decades in Poland. This is a central part in the Energy Policy that the government had adopted earlier this year. And offshore wind energy has a key role to play in this transformation” – said the Minister.
Regulations
Poland plans to build 5.9 GW until 2030 and 11 GW until 2040. Guibourgé – Czetwertyński has identified several development challenges. The construction of wind turbines is associated with the development of the power grid, which will be of key importance for the implementation of the projects. The next element is the regulations.
“At the beginning of this year, we adopted the Act on the Promotion of Electricity Generation in Offshore Wind Farms, which provides, inter alia, two-phase support system” – he added.
The first phase of the system, during which applications could be submitted until June 30, 2021, concerns an offshore wind farm with a total capacity of 5.9 GW – these are the most advanced projects that exist in Poland today. Here, we would like to remind, that on June 14, the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) issued the sixth decision granting the right to cover the negative balance of settlements (a type of contract for difference) for electricity generated in offshore wind farms located in the Baltic Sea.
In the second phase, the Polish Ministry of Energy and Environment will organize competitive auctions the first of which is planned for 2025 and the next one for 2027.
“We have already prepared regulations resulting from the act on promoting electricity generation from offshore wind farms. The most urgent one is the law related to technical requirements for elements of these investments, such as offshore power plants. These technical requirements have also been published” – said Guibourgé – Czetwertyński.
The Polish minister also said that the European Commission has approved the Polish offshore wind energy support program. This will help achieve the renewable energy sources target in Poland until 2030 and transform the energy mix.
The Ministry of Energy and Environment has been working on the Offshore Wind Sector Deal which looks at many different areas like staffing, development areas like innovation, industry development and logistics.
Cooperation with the Baltic Sea region
In his video column Guibourgé – Czetwertyński said that in order to unleash the full potential of offshore wind energy, Poland also wants to strengthen cooperation with partners in the Baltic Sea.
“That is why we proposed the signing of the Baltic Declaration in Szczecin by governments from regions, including Poland, as well as our neighbours, such as Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and all the Baltic countries. We see it as a cornerstone for the transformation of our energy system and for closer cooperation in the region” – he stated.
