Equinor and Polenergia selected turbine supplier for MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III projects in Poland

Siemens Gamesa has been selected as the preferred supplier of offshore wind turbines for the two Baltic projects jointly developed by Equinor and Polenergia. The signed agreement provides for the delivery of powerful modern direct drive SG 14-236 DD turbines with an impressive capacity of up to 15 MW for the offshore wind farm projects MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III. Thus, Equinor and Polenergia were the first among the companies implementing offshore wind farm projects in Poland to select their turbine supplier.

The signed agreement appointing Siemens Gamesa as the preferred supplier of turbines is a milestone for the offshore wind energy projects MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III, which were included in the first phase of offshore wind energy development in Poland. It is also an important step towards achieving Poland's energy transformation goals, in which offshore energy occupies a strategic position. The total capacity of the projects jointly implemented by Equinor and Polenergia is 1440 MW, which means that they are among the largest and most advanced Polish projects on the Baltic at the moment.

– Through selecting the preferred turbine supplier, we are reaching another milestone to move our projects forward and bring the best technologies into the Polish market and its offshore wind industry development. Our goal is to execute these projects in a way that brings to Poland the competitive source of clean and renewable energy, based on the leading solutions. We believe this cooperation with Siemens Gamesa will accelerate further the progress of our projects that can bring several opportunities for the Polish market and Polish companies to be included in the local supply chain – says Michał Kołodziejczyk, country manager of Equinor in Poland.  

– We effectively secure the supply of key products and services required to implement Baltic investments. We develop our projects on the basis of best practices known from other European countries and draw on the experience of other offshore energy investments. This allows for a smooth process of obtaining the necessary permits and significantly increases the degree of advancement of these projects. We believe that our offshore wind farms will provide clean, green energy for millions of Polish households by 2027 – claims Michał Michalski, Ph.D., President of the Management Board of Polenergia.

As part of the agreement, the parties expect Siemens Gamesa to supply the flagship SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbine model. The turbine has a nominal capacity of 14 MW, and with the power boost function it can reach an impressive 15 MW. It is Siemens Gamesa’s largest direct drive offshore wind turbine. One rotation of the turbine rotor will produce clean electricity to meet the needs of a single household in Poland for 4 days. When one turbine is running at full load, it will only take 10 minutes to produce the electricity needed to power one average Polish household for a year.

The exact number of turbines to be supplied for MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III projects remains to be determined at a later stage, when the final turbine supply contract and service and warranty contract are concluded. The final investment decision for both projects requires obtaining the necessary permits and is planned for 2024, which will enable the delivery of first electricity to the grid in 2027.

In May 2021, the projects jointly implemented by Equinor and Polenergia received decisions from the President of the Energy Regulatory Office granting the right to cover the negative balance for electricity generated and fed into the grid. The projects will be located in the south-western part of the Baltic Sea, within the Polish exclusive economic zone, about 27 and 40 km from the port of Łeba, where the operational and service base of the investment will be located.