Equinor and Polenergia with very important contract for installation vessels for Bałtyk 2 and 3 projects   

Equinor and Polenergia have signed a very important contract for offshore wind farms Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3. After ordering turbines, foundations and offshore and onshore cables, the two companies have signed an important contract for installation vessels. The vessels will serve to transport and install 100 huge wind turbines at sea. The projects Bałtyk 2 and 3, with a total capacity of 1440 MW, have complete offshore and onshore construction permits. The Bałtyk offshore wind farms are one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of Poland.

The Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 projects will have in total 100 wind turbines of 14.4 MW each in the Baltic Sea. These are the largest turbines produced by Siemens-Gamesa. The wind towers will reach a height of 260 meters, which means each will be taller than the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. After taking into account the foundations, which are below the surface of the water, the total height of one turbine will almost equal the height of the Eiffel Tower.

Installation ships will be used to transport and install the huge turbines. The contract for the vessels was signed by Equinor and Polenergia with Cadeler.

– The signed contract for installation vessels is another piece of the puzzle that brings us closer to
the final investment decision and the construction of offshore wind farms. The scope of work and the dedicated fleet of vessels show how complex an engineering process it is to build such an infrastructure offshore. The world's most modernand highly efficient wind turbines will be installed at a specific time and place at a depth of several tens of meters. No one has done this before in the Polish Baltic Sea. We are pleased to be able to use our extensive international experience in the construction of advanced energy infrastructure offshore – says Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczyk, Country Manager of Equinor Polska.

Wysokość wież wiatrowych w projektach Bałtyk 2 i 3. Źródło: Polenergia, Equinor

Cadeler is a global company based in Denmark that is a provider of services related to the installation, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Cadeler intends to use two types of installation vessels - P-class and O-class - to carry out its contracted tasks.

The P-class vessels are designed to operate in some of the world's most challenging locations and have the most advanced equipment on board. The vessels have increased transit capacity, reducing installation time and thus lowering the overall cost of building offshore wind farms.

The P-type vessels have a deck area of 5,600 m2, a cargo capacity of more than 17,600 tons and a main crane capacity that exceeds 2,600 tons within a radius of 46 meters from the ship.

O-class ships are based on a structure consisting of 6 legs. The main crane mounted on O-class vessels has a lifting capacity of up to 1,600 tons within a 40-meter radius of the vessel. The main hook can reach 160 meters above the main deck.

The two classes of vessels complement each other when working at sea, increasing the flexibility and efficiency of the operations carried out. The units of both types are more than 150 meters long.

– The contract for installation vessels for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms is one of the final
steps away from their construction. The scale of the project is best captured by the numbers. With the offshore installation of 100 powerful turbines, the total installed capacity of the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 projects will reach an impressive 1440 MW. And this will allow us to power more than 2 million households with clean, renewable energy. The Bałtyk offshore wind farms are one of the largest infrastructure projects in Poland's history. It is also a strategic project for Polish energy security. The contract for the installation vessels is another extremely important stage in its implementation – says Jerzy Zan, CEO of Polenergia S.A.

Statek instalacyjny klasy P. Źródło: Cadeler

Offshore wind farms Bałtyk - key information 

Equinor and Polenergia are jointly developing three Bałtyk offshore wind farm projects in the Polish sea, with a total capacity of up to 3,000 MW.

The offshore wind farm projects Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 are being developed in the first phase of offshore wind energy development in Poland. The projects are located in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea, between 22 and 37 kilometers from the coastline.  

The first energy from the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms is expected to flow into the grid as early as 2027, the commercial phase of their operation is planned from 2028.  

Projekty Bałtyk 2 i Bałtyk 3. Źródło: Polenergia / Equinor

In the next phase of offshore wind power development in Poland, Equinor and Polenergia are developing the Bałtyk 1 project, which will be 81 kilometers offshore.  

Bałtyk 1, with a capacity of up to 1560 MW, is the project of the largest wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, which is being prepared for auction in 2025.  

The three Bałtyk offshore wind farms has the potential to power more than 4 million Polish households with green energy.  

Statek instalacyjny klasy P. Źródło: Cadeler