PGE Baltica, a PGE Group company, has begun ground investigations for the onshore section for the Baltica-1 offshore wind farm. The study area will encompass the construction site of a future onshore transformer station and cable bench, i.e. infrastructure related to power derivation. The survey is carried out by a Polish company Geoteko.
– Geological reconnaissance of the area where the onshore part of the project is to be built is an essential part of the investment process related to the construction of offshore wind farms. Geotechnical and geophysical surveys are underway to thoroughly investigate the ground for the future project. The study’s result will be documentation necessary for the technical design of a land connection – said Arkadiusz Sekściński, President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica.
The field survey will include boreholes with soil and groundwater sampling and CPTU soundings. CPTU sounding is a test that involves pressing a special cone into the ground with a system of sensors that record soil parameters continuously.
As part of the planned laboratory tests, it was designed to carry out tests of physical-mechanical parameters and chemical parameters of collected soil and groundwater samples. The final result of completed work will be the documentation necessary for the next stages of the project – preparation of a technical design, which will be part of the construction project. The obtained data will also allow the selection of suitable export cables and planning the depth of their laying in the land section.
The Baltica 1 offshore wind farm project, with a capacity of approx. 0.9 GW, is one of three projects currently under construction by the PGE Group in the Baltic Sea, located approx. 80 km from the shoreline, roughly at the height of Leba in Pomeranian Voivodeship. The project already has, among others, a location permit and connection agreement, with the first full year of wind, sea current and wave surveys behind it. The Baltica 1 offshore wind farm project will be operational after 2030.
The next two projects are Baltica 2 and Baltica 3, which together will form the Baltica offshore wind farm with a total capacity of 2.5 GW, that PGE Group is pursuing together with Ørsted. Completion of the Baltica 2 stage with a capacity of approx. 1.5 GW is planned by the end of 2027, while the Baltica 3 stage with a capacity of approx. 1 GW by 2030.
Source: PGE Baltica
