Legislative actions taken by the Ministry of Climate and Environment for the development of offshore wind energy, as well as investments in power grids to derive power from offshore wind farms, were the issues discussed at the 6th meeting of the Offshore Wind Energy Coordinating Council. The meeting, held on June 30, 2023, was chaired by Ireneusz Zyska, Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment and Government Plenipotentiary for Renewable Energy.
The development of offshore wind energy is strategic for strengthening the country’s energy security, but also for creating economic development momentum. As part of the activities of the sector agreement, solutions are being developed that will provide the conditions for building a strong supply chain, with a key role for industry and research centers. The first electricity from wind farms in the Baltic Sea will flow as early as 2026. In order to fully utilize energy from offshore wind farms, it is necessary to build transmission infrastructure, as well as an energy storage system and hydrogen electrolyzers – said Deputy Minister Ireneusz Zyska.
During the meeting, Maciej Przybylski, Director of Department of System Development, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA, gave a presentation on ongoing and planned power grid investments for offshore wind development.
The deputy minister also presented the effects of legislative work carried out at the Ministry of Climate and Environment for the development of offshore wind energy. He pointed out that the Law on Amendments to the Law on Renewable Energy Sources and certain other laws increased the ambitions for offshore wind installed capacity to a total of 18 GW.
At the same time, Ireneusz Zyska pointed out that in the assumptions for updating Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040, in addition to the aforementioned increase in capacity for offshore wind projects, the need to expand the transmission grid in the northwestern part of the country has also been taken into account. This will create the conditions for the connection and derivation of this power.
He also recalled that in the Law on Amendments to the Energy Law and certain other laws adopted by the Polish Parliament on June 16, 2023, amendments to the Offshore Act have been included, responding to demands by manufacturers for provisions governing obligations for the materials and services supply chain plan and reporting on its implementation. In addition to extending the deadline for submitting the first report on the implementation of the materials and services supply chain plan from 6 to 18 months, the safeguarding of company-secret information in updates and reports submitted to the ERO President was also guaranteed.
Source: Ministry of Climate and Environment
