On October 4, zero-carbon solutions provider Enersense acquired all shares of Pori Offshore Constructions, a company with extensive know-how in the offshore wind sector. This was a major factor in the investment decision. […]
The Estonian TSO Elering AS and the Latvian TSO Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) are developing a business case, investigating the possibilities to invest in an offshore grid. In order to evaluate the business cases of future projects, an offshore grid technology catalogue is needed. BLIX Consultancy has been commissioned to perform [...]
Offshore wind energy is one of the important pillars for the implementation of the EU Green Deal. The EC’s offshore RES strategy foresees the integration of 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050. This raises many challenges, in particular in terms of grid development, building new connections and at [...]
The Swedish government announced in October that electricity system operator Svenska Kraftnät would be tasked with expanding the transmission grid in offshore areas in connection with plans to develop offshore wind power. National fishermen were concerned about the announcements. They have issued a letter to the government on this issue. [...]
The European Patent Office (EPO) has confirmed its intention to grant Hexicon a European patent for the company’s floating wind power platform with tilted towers. EPO has also examined a third-party submission, similar to the objection filed against the patent already granted in Sweden, and did not find it relevant, [...]
Estonian media reports that the Ministry of the Environment has approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) program for the Saare offshore wind farm. The wind power plant, with a capacity of up to 1400 MW, will be installed in the waters off the western side of the island of Saaremaa. The [...]
Investor Cloudberry Clean Energy plans to build the Stenkalles Grund offshore wind farm in the waters of Vänern, Sweden’s largest lake. The company has postponed making a final investment decision until mid-2022. […]
Transmission system operators of Sweden and Finland, Svenska kraftnät and Fingrid, have together applied for Connecting Europe Facility co-funding for the new cross-border interconnector Aurora Line between the northern parts of the countries. […]
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Latvia on 15th October. She met with Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, with whom she discussed, among other things, on energy security. One of the topics discussed was offshore wind energy. […]
Finnish-Swedish law firm Hannes Snellman will be engaged by Finnish state-owned company Metsähallitus in the Korsnäs offshore wind farm project. […]
On October 21, representatives of Poland’s largest power producer PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, its subsidiary PGE Baltica and the city of Ustka signed a letter of intent to locate a service port for offshore wind farms in Ustka. […]
Swedish RES developer OX2 has announced that the company is currently applying for Natura 2000 permits for the Galatea-Galene offshore wind farm. The installation will be built in the waters of Kattegat, off the coasts of Falkenberg and Varberg. […]
Latvian transmission system operator Augstsprieguma tīkls AS (AST) has presented an investment plan worth up to €401 million. The operator’s aim until 2030 is to develop the transmission grid in terms of reliable energy supply and to increase integration of more RES sources. […]
Hando Sutter, CEO of Estonian company Eesti Energia, addressed Konkurentsiamet, the Estonian Competition Authority, concerning offshore wind energy development. Sutter doubts that grid operator Elering is treating all market participants equally. […]
Charting a way forward for a healthy Baltic Sea, HELCOM has adopted the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021 that was held in Lübeck, Germany, on 20 October 2021. […]
On October 15, Lithuania’s energy ministry said that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) programme has been prepared for a wind power plant with a capacity of up to 700 MW. Now the relevant institutions have 10 days to submit comments and proposals. […]
“This is very good news,” comments Stefan Thimm on the EEG surcharge published today for 2022. This will drop to 2022 cents per kilowatt hour (ct / kWh) in 3,723. The federal government had already announced in advance that it would limit the surcharge to 2022 ct./kWh in 6 through [...]
Šarūnas Vaitkus, the Mayor of Palanga, Lithuania, addressed the state authorities with a letter concerning doubts about the development of offshore wind farms. Local politicians are concerned about the negative impact of offshore wind turbines on the landscape as well as recreational and tourism potential. "We strongly disagree!" - Vaitkus stressed in the letter. [...]
As we read on Klaipeda Port website, on 12 October there was a meeting of the port authorities with representatives of RWE Renewables investor. The two sides discussed offshore energy development in the Baltic Sea. […]
A few days ago, the Swedish government announced that it had instructed operator Svenska Kraftnät to begin preparatory work before expanding the offshore transmission grid for offshore wind development. Sweden’s plans have been addressed by the Finnish Wind Power Association, which states in a release that if Finland is late [...]
The way towards a healthy Baltic Sea will be charted during the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2021, to be held in Lübeck, Germany, on 20 October 2021, where the HELCOM Ministers and the EU Commissioner for the Environment are planning to adopt the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan. […]
Danish energy islands are set to be one of the landmark projects in Europe. One of them will be built in the Baltic Sea. Ultimately, the infrastructure project will be connected to offshore farms of up to 2 GW. Danish operator Energinet has been ordered by the government to extend its [...]
The Swedish Government plans to contract electricity system operator Svenska Kraftnät to expand the transmission network in the country’s offshore areas. The development of offshore wind power will support Sweden’s efforts to meet its 2040 RES energy production targets. […]
Vestas has decided to install the V236-15 MW offshore prototype wind turbine at the Østerild National test centre for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark. The installation of the prototype turbine will take place in the second half of 2022 and its first kWh is planned for the fourth [...]
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 [...]
In September we reported on BalticWind.EU that energy concern bp is interested in investing in the Polish offshore wind energy sector. This was communicated by Michał Obiegała, Regulatory & Government Affairs Manager and Legal Counsel at BP, during the Economic Forum in Karpacz. Today the representative of BP Poland answers [...]
Vice-Minister of Energy of Lithuania Daiva Garbaliauskaitė attended the international conference “Baltic Offshore Wind Transmission” and a study visit to Denmark. During the event in Warsaw, she informed that the Ministry of Energy, together with the grid operator, is holding talks on the possibility of building a second offshore wind [...]
ZE PAK, Poland’s largest privately owned energy producer who is currently implementing a shift from coal to renewables, and Ørsted, global leader in offshore wind with 30 years of experience, have signed a letter of intent to participate in the upcoming auction for seabed leases in the Polish part of [...]
Vattenfall has set ambitious targets in how to deal with wind turbine blades at end of life. An immediate commitment to a landfill ban on decommissioned wind turbine blades has been made. The next decade there will be an intense work increasing the recycling rate of wind blade components. […]
Fugro has secured a contract with Energinet to provide floating wind lidar measurements for what will be the world’s first offshore artificial energy island, which is being constructed for the Danish Government. Fugro will install and operate four SEAWATCH wind lidar buoys at two locations, Energioe Nordsoen and Energioe Baltic, that will act as [...]
Nordic company Cloudberry is planning to strengthen its business portfolio in the area of offshore wind energy. The target of the independent developer is the Baltic Sea. The Nordic renewable energy producer has hired Charlotte Bergqvist, who will assist Cloudberry in exploring investment opportunities. Cloudberry is an Oslo-based company active in the renewable energy market [...]
On October 8 a ceremonial meeting of the Polish government and the PKN Orlen company with representatives of the Lithuanian government was held in Mažeikiai, Lithuania. A new investment of Orlen in the form of deep crude oil processing in the refinery was announced. On the occasion of the meeting the representatives of both sides [...]
The Danish Energy Agency has launched an analysis of alternative areas for the Hesselø offshore wind farm, which will be built as part of the 2018 Danish Energy Agreement. Preliminary studies of the seabed have shown that the originally assumed area has a soft clay bottom. If the seabed is found to be completely [...]
Lithuanian electricity system operator, Litgrid, announced that the board of directors has approved the strategy for the development of the electricity transmission system. The plan is to evolve this strategic organization and integrate 4.9 GW of installed RES, including offshore wind, into the system. […]
Finnish company Metsähallitus has announced that the developer of the Korsnäs wind farm will hold its first meetings with local residents in early December 2021. This will be the second offshore wind farm operating in Finland. The local dialogue with residents is about the offshore wind farm that will be installed near the municipality [...]
SPONSORED CONTENT On 11-12 October 2021, the international offshore wind industry conference "2nd edition Baltic Offshore Wind Transmission" will be held in Warsaw, Poland. During this event, BalticWind.EU will host debates with representatives from offshore wind investors as well as ENTSO-E. This is an excellent opportunity to examine grid infrastructure development plans for offshore [...]
German electricity system operator 50Hertz announced that it has received the final, long-awaited approval for its Ostwind 2 infrastructure project in mid-September 2021. The operator received the decision for a 700-meter cable section connecting the Arcadis Ost 1 transformer platform. Ostwind 2 is a project by German operator 50Hertz designed to connect the Arcadis Ost [...]
September 6 proved to be a milestone for the Baltic Sea as the 604 MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm project was officially inaugurated. German steelmaker Dillinger boasted that it was the company that supplied the 45,000 tons of heavy plate needed for the monopiles used in the Kriegers Flak project. The popular Kriegers [...]
Estonian energy company Eesti Energia has announced that work has begun on the environmental impact assessment of the Liivi offshore wind farm, which will be built in the waters of the Gulf of Riga. A consulting firm Skepast&Puhkim is responsible for preparing the assessment. The Liivi offshore wind farm will be located about 10 km [...]
BirdLife International, a global federation of organizations dedicated to the conservation of wild bird species, has prepared a complex study on the impact of offshore wind farms on bird populations in the Baltic and North Seas. The key is marine spatial planning, based on scientific research and expert knowledge. The report „Impact of offshore [...]
Leading renewable energy developer Green Investment Group (GIG), has acquired the rights to the Kattegatt offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Falkenberg Municipality in the Halland region of Sweden. Green Investment Group, owned by investment giant Macquarie, has acquired the rights to the Kattegatt offshore wind farm from investor Agrivind AB. The [...]
Danish wind industry tycoon Ørsted has plans to build a 1.5 GW Skåne offshore wind farm. It has already completed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project - documents are awaiting approval. The Skåne offshore wind farm will be located about 22 kilometers south of Skåne. The electricity will be able to cover [...]
BalticWind.EU was an institutional patron of the 7th Energy Congress organised by the think-tank DISE Energy. Our representative, Managing Director Paweł Wróbel, together with industry representatives and experts from the offshore wind sector, discussed the development of offshore wind energy in Poland. They all agreed that the road to the planned 11 GW is [...]
Danish wind energy association Wind Denmark presented a series of proposals to accelerate the expansion of wind and solar power at the Vindtræf 2021 industry conference. Denmark needs huge amounts of energy from RES to meet its growing electricity demand by 2030. "Wind Denmark estimates that 70-110 billion kWh of electricity will be needed in [...]
The time for offshore wind farms is approaching in Finland – say experts at Helsinki-based law firm Castrén & Snellman. In Finland, there are plans to accelerate the construction of offshore wind farms, among others by reducing the property tax rate. […]
The German OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE foundation has prepared an analysis of the demand and potential for the production of green hydrogen in combination with offshore wind energy in Germany. Calculations show that based on the new maritime spatial development plan, more than 60 GW of offshore capacity can be installed if all [...]
The developer Kustvind plans to build the Sydkustens wind farm in the waters of the Baltic Sea, 8-15 km from the coast in the territorial sea within the municipalities of Skurup and Trelleborg. Local authorities object to the offshore farm. According to the Swedish media, the investor will have to [...]
On 15 September 2021 Poland signed its first Offshore Wind Sector Deal. This Government-industry collaboration aims to establish a leading offshore wind industry in Poland. Under the Sector Deal the industry commits to the creation of up to 60,000 direct and indirect jobs in Poland’s wind industry by 2040. The [...]
Denmark needs renewable energy generated from two energy islands linked to offshore wind farms to achieve its ambitious climate goals by 2030. The company Ramboll will assess impact of the planned Baltic Sea energy island on the surrounding marine environment. […]
On 16 August WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson spoke at the kick-off meeting of the ELWIND project, the joint Estonia/Latvia project to develop a hybrid offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. Dickson gave an introduction about offshore wind developments in Europe and shared the experience of past and existing [...]
In 2020, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) recorded the lowest levels of underwater noise in the German part of the Baltic Sea since measurements began in 2013. […]
The study “Baltic Sea Climate Change Fact Sheet 2021” presents the latest scientific knowledge on climate change in the Baltic Sea region. Changing climatic conditions have an impact on the Baltic ecosystem, which should be of interest to the offshore wind energy industry. […]
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Construction and Interior (BMI) announced that on September 1, 2021, the site development plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea has entered into force. It defines an area for offshore farms with a total capacity of [...]
A consortium comprising Pekao Investment Banking and Green Giraffe has been mandated as financial advisor for the offshore wind farm project Baltic Power. The two companies will be responsible for raising funding for the project, which is due to start in 2023, with commercial operation planned in 2026. […]
In June, we informed that the Norwegian seismic research company Green Energy Group (SeaBird Exploration Plc) will execute its first contract in the offshore wind energy sector. The contract covers the charter of the Petrel Explorer vessel, that is, a floating hotel. The company announced another contract extension. […]
The Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications announced the selection of a contractor for a preliminary feasibility study for the ELWIND offshore wind farm project. Hendrikson & KO and Pondera Consult will take on the challenges. […]
Green hydrogen will play a key role in the future energy supply system. Areas that are difficult to electrify can only be decarbonised with hydrogen. This results in high demand for green hydrogen. “We therefore appeal to the future federal government to create the conditions for ambitious hydrogen production using [...]
To accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and improve wind energy’s competitiveness, Vestas continues to develop and optimise the products and solutions which offer to customers as well as expand partnerships with specialised partners in our supply chain. The ongoing integration of Vestas onshore and offshore business is a key [...]
Anders Sandin asked the editorial board of Gefle Dagblad questions about offshore wind energy in Sweden. “I think no one is against offshore wind energy, but many are against destroying the environment to save it,” he says. Svea Wind Offshore relates in response to the implementation of the Utposten 2 [...]
The German regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has announced the results of the first offshore wind auction using the “central model”. New wind farms in the Baltic and North Seas will be built by EDF and RWE. […]
This Wednesday 15th of September, Ems Maritime Offshore (EMO), Vestas and Parkwind signed the lease agreements for the O&M building that will serve the forthcoming Arcadis Ost I wind farm in the Port of Mukran. The signing ceremony, in the presence of the Minister of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of [...]
On 15 September, representatives of the Polish government, business, companies, financial and research institutions signed a sector deal on offshore wind energy. The agreement is to become the basis for building a new industry in Poland. Giles Dickson, WindEurope CEO, said a few words about this initiative in a special [...]
September 15 is a landmark date for the Polish offshore wind energy sector. On that day, the sector deal was signed to develop a new industry. The document was signed by about 200 signatories, but the Polish government is already encouraging more entities to join the agreement. […]
2021 turned out to be a breakthrough for the Polish offshore wind energy industry. The first legal regulations for the sector appeared, the Energy Regulatory Office granted support for five projects in the Baltic Sea. The industry in Poland is no longer asking whether offshore wind energy will be developed, [...]
PGE and Ørsted start a wind turbine generators tender for the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm (OWF Baltica), which are the most capital-intensive part of the investment. […]
The energy potential of the Polish part of the Baltic Sea is considered to be one of the largest in the region. For this reason, offshore wind energy will be a key tool enabling the construction of a modern, zero-emission and safe energy system – says Michał Kurtyka, Minister of [...]
The BP energy concern is interested in investing in the Polish offshore wind energy sector. This was announced by Michał Obiegała, director of corporate affairs of BP Poland, during the Economic Forum in Karpacz. […]
The general election is just around the corner. A lot has happened in the offshore wind energy sector in the past year: New expansion targets, a new spatial planning and, for the first time, areas for the production of hydrogen at sea. At the same time, however, not a single [...]
As announced by the German Federal Network Agency today, the RWE – Essen-based energy company – was awarded two offshore wind sites. In the North Sea, RWE was able to secure a lease (N-3.7) for an offshore wind farm with a potential capacity of 225 megawatts (MW). A second site [...]
Offshore wind consultancy OWC has been awarded a contract by Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie/BSH) to analyse and assess wind conditions for two future German offshore wind tendering sites. OWC, an AqualisBraemar LOC Group (ABL Group) company, has assembled a team of internal experts and external cooperation partners, including Fraunhofer IWES and ProPlanEn, [...]
Aker Offshore Wind and Hexicon have appointed former Swedish Finance Minister Pär Nuder and former Vattenfall executive Mikael Kramer to the Board of Directors of its new 50-50 joint venture to develop floating wind offshore in Sweden. […]
Port of Tallinn has unveiled an ambitious plan to design the hub of the Baltic Sea green infrastructure in Estonia together with the partners, which would contribute to Estonia’s climate neutrality goals and increase the country’s competitiveness. It is also looking for the best ways to convert ferries to hydrogen [...]
The Transmission System Operators – Latvian AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) and Estonian Elering AS, in scope of the ELWIND project, together with an Estonian consultant Skepast & Puhkim OÜ will carry out an in-depth study of possible onshore land line corridors towards the planned offshore wind park sites which have [...]
Global Offshore, a leading provider of cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets, and part of the Global Marine Group, has been awarded a contract for the installation and burial of 27 array cables at Parkwind’s Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind [...]
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Denmark, together with Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Simon Kollerup, has inaugurated Vattenfall’s new offshore wind farm Kriegers Flak. The wind farm is Scandinavia’s largest and will increase Danish wind power production by 16 percent. […]
The independent assurance company DNV was selected to certify the Baltic Power offshore wind farm project – one of the first offshore wind farms in Poland. We talk with company representatives about the prospects for the development of this sector in the Baltic Sea, the challenges of the newly emerging [...]
Onshore part of grid connection assets of the Baltic Power offshore windfarm, that include onshore cable lines, onshore substation and overhead lines connecting Baltic Power substation with National Grid will be constructed in the Choczewo commune in Northern Poland. […]
TKF has signed a contract with Van Oord for the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm. For this project TKF will supply approximately 79 km 66 kV inter- array cables. […]
Offshore wind continues to break new boundaries – WindEurope said in a statement. Europe has 120 offshore wind farms already. The EU wants much more and sees offshore wind producing around 20% of our power by 2050. The first 6 months of this year have seen some significant developments which give confidence that this can be achieved. [...]
Iberdrola and Vestas have signed a contract to supply 50 units of the offshore wind turbine V174-9.5 MW for the Baltic Eagle project situated in German waters 40 km west of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The central position in the Baltic Sea is a factor for Port of Roenne A/S to secure another contract [...]
Survey Association announce establishment of new office and representation for Marine Consultancy and Marine Warranty Services (MWS) in the Polish offshore wind market. The Gdynia Office will be headed up by Capt. Pawel Sztorch and Capt. Peter Jermakow. […]
His Royal Highness the Danish Crown Prince Frederik and the Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Simon Kollerup will inaugurate Scandinavia’s largest offshore wind farm Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea. […]
Iberdrola and the port of Sassnitz (Fährhafen Sassnitz GmbH) have signed the lease agreement for the new operations and maintenance building that will serve the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, at a ceremony chaired by the Prime Minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig. The agreement delivers another important milestone in the offshore [...]
Estonian electricity system operator Elering and the Latvian system operator AST formally launched the third Estonian-Latvian electricity connection, which inter alia creates the prerequisites for developing an offshore network and the related building of offshore wind farms. […]
The period of vacations and holiday trips is slowly coming to an end, and the conference season and the upcoming fall are taking shape ahead of us. Our editorial staff of BalticWind.EU noticed that despite the holiday season, the offshore wind energy industry did not slow down and is optimistic about the coming years. What [...]
Ambiens, MAG Offshore and Subnea have signed the agreement on cooperation in the field of environmental impact assessments implemented for Offshore projects in Poland and the Baltic Sea basin. […]
– The insurers must take into account many more potential risks – such as the risk related to the use of vessels, heavy cranes or e.g. the risk associated with varying wave heights. Due to the above-described reasons, the insurance market has created insurance terms and conditions dedicated and specific to offshore wind construction and [...]
Steel is an essential element in the development of renewable energy sources - there is no doubt about that. However, its significantly increasing price may be reflected in higher wind project implementation costs. The coming years will be a test for wind developers and manufacturers of wind turbines components. The rise in steel prices, driven [...]
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 [...]
Huisman, a global supplier of technical solutions, has signed a contract with DEME to supply installation tools for the Orion vessel used in offshore wind energy. The Orion installation vessel will operate, among others, at the Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm in Germany in the Baltic Sea. Huisman and DEME specialists recently worked together [...]
The Danish transmission operator Energinet has commissioned environmental studies to be carried out by Niras and Rambøll at the site of the two energy islands in the Baltic and North Seas. In the coming years, the populations of marine mammals, fish and birds during different seasons of the year are to be surveyed. Rambøll will [...]
The German regulator, the Federal Transmission Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur - BNetzA), started consultations in August for the second draft network development plan for its expansion until 2035. The BNetzA also presented its assessment of the infrastructure development. The power grid development plan for 2021-2035 includes measures to expand the German transmission network, which are necessary [...]
The countries of the Baltic Sea region are fighting for a high share of domestic companies in the development of offshore wind farms. Ports will play an important role, as they will be burdened with efficient installations of offshore wind farms. This also applies to Lithuania, which has great aspirations in the offshore wind sector. [...]
The Polish state-owned company PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna has selected a financial advisor to arrange and obtain financing for the construction of the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 offshore wind farms. It is the French investment bank Société Générale. The selection of the financial advisor was carried out on the basis of the Polish [...]
On August 11, 2021, the German Ministry of Economy and Energy presented a draft regulation on the designation of other areas in the exclusive economic zone for energy production. This is about producing green hydrogen in Germany, where offshore wind power will play a major role. As we read on the website of the [...]
The Polish media reached the unofficial version of the ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure on the assessment of applications submitted in the adjudication proceedings regarding, among others, the requirements that must be met by companies investing in offshore wind farms in Poland. The new regulations may exclude foreign and private concerns from investing [...]
In countries planning the development of offshore wind farms, representatives of the fishing sector often protest loudly. Fishermen fear that the development of wind turbines will deprive them of their livelihood – wind turbines may be built in fishing areas or may limit their development. Similar voices are being raised not only in Estonia, [...]
Swedish investor OX2 plans to build a wind farm off the coast of Skåne, less than 30 km south of Ystad in the Swedish economic zone. Public consultations on the project are currently underway. […]
AqualisBraemar LOC (ABL), the marine and energy consultants, to announce that it has recently been awarded a contract by Baltic Eagle GmbH, a project company of Spanish multinational Iberdrola group, to provide Marine Warranty Survey services for the Baltic Eagle Offshore Wind Farm project. […]
Damen Shipyards Group has signed a contract with Fairplay Towage Polska for the delivery of a Shoalbuster 2711 ICE. The company will use the versatile vessel to perform diverse operations, including in the offshore wind industry, in the Baltic and North seas. Damen is building the vessel in Poland. [...]