At the Harvest Festival about offshore wind energy

Crowds flocked to Swołowo last weekend, where the Harvest Festival of the Redzikowo Municipality and Slupsk County was held. The stand of Equinor and Polenergia was widely popular among the region's residents. The companies once again had the opportunity to introduce the local community to offshore wind energy. 

The District-Municipal Harvest Festival in Swołowo on the grounds of the Museum of Pomeranian Folk Culture, was the largest in the region. Equinor and Polenergia prepared attractions related to offshore wind and renewable energy sources for the event's participants. For investors, it was an opportunity to meet with the residents of the region where the Baltic offshore wind farms will be implemented and provide them with information about the opportunities and benefits of offshore wind energy development in the Baltic Sea. Representatives of the companies answered questions from numerous visitors to the stand. Popular among them was the workshop “Forest Gardens in Glass”, during which, under the guidance of an experienced gardener, they could create a small forest or garden in a jar and then take this composition home. Children had fun with educational crossword puzzles, wind chimes, and coloring books related to green energy.  

The presence of Equinor and Polenergia at local events in municipalities where offshore wind farm projects will be implemented reflects the companies' strategy to ensure that the investments are made transparently and in a way that benefits both the environment and the community. Therefore, the investors try to be close to the local community as often as possible.

– Participation in the Harvest Festival in Swołowo is a great opportunity for the residents to get to know us better. We will be their neighbor for at least 30 years, so it is significant to us to have the best possible relationship. We want to be a good neighbor and part of the local community, which is why we have been in direct and constant contact for a long time now: whether during the periodically organized information meetings about the Baltic projects, or through our presence at events important to the local community – stresses Marta Porzuczek, director of Polenergia's environmental protection and sustainable development department.

During regular meetings with residents, representatives of the investors present the current status of work on the Baltic 2 and Baltic 3 projects. The developers already have a set of all the necessary construction permits and are currently carrying out preparatory works on the building of the onshore substation, including the access road to it. They plan to start construction work later this quarter.

The service base for the Baltic 2 and Baltic 3 offshore wind farms will be located in Leba. About 100 specialists will find long-term employment there, responsible for technical maintenance of offshore infrastructure and equipment, as well as supporting operations from land. 

– Łeba and the Słupsk District - through which the offshore wind farm connection infrastructure corridor will run - are important locations for our investments. Therefore, we maintain regular contact with the region's residents, actively participating in the life of local communities. During the recent Łeba Days and the Harvest Festival in Swołowo, Equinor’s and Polenergia’s stand was visited by hundreds of people, to whom we had the opportunity to introduce our activities and the benefits that the implementation of the Baltic offshore wind farm projects will bring – says Andrzej Popadiuk, Equinor's stakeholder relations manager. 

Those interested are invited to regular information meetings and the Baltic Offshore Wind Farm Information Center in Łeba. This is Poland's first year-round information and education point on offshore wind energy. One of its most important tasks is to spread knowledge about the projects implemented in the Baltic Sea by Equinor and Polenergia. The facility, located in the center of Łeba, provides comprehensive information about investments, regional benefits, job opportunities, and educational paths.