The PGE Group and Ørsted have signed contracts for the laying and connection of internal and export cables for Baltica 2 – one of the two stages of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm, the companies announced. Earlier, tenders for the supply of offshore export cables, which will be used to transfer power from offshore wind farms to land, were settled.
“We are consistently implementing the next stages of the largest RES project in the history of Poland. We have completed the contracting of the most important components for the Baltica 2 stage, including the delivery of 107 turbines, as well as foundations and offshore transformer stations. Now we have moved on to the next phase related to contracting the installation services of individual components. The first effect is the signing of a contract for the installation of cables for the Baltica 2 project with a capacity of 1.5 GW,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Polish Energy Group (PGE), quoted in the release.
“Already in 2027, this investment will ensure safe supplies of green energy to 2.4 million households, while reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 5 million tons per year,” added the president.
Boskalis, selected in a tender for laying and connecting cables, is a world leader in hydrotechnical and dredging works. So far, it has implemented the largest number of projects in the field of offshore wind energy in the North Sea, but its ships also participated in the construction of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście. Several ships from its fleet will be assigned to carry out the task related to laying cables for Baltica 2, e.g. a cable laying vessel (CLV, cable laying vessel) and a supporting vessel (CSV, construction support vessel). The contractor’s task will be not only to lay and bury approx. 300 km of export cables and approx. 170 km of internal cables, but also to remove boulders in advance in order to prepare the seabed for the installation of cable lines, as indicated in the material.
Earlier, PGE and Ørsted signed contracts for the supply of marine export cables, which will be delivered by ZTT Submarine Cable & System and Hellenic Cables. Offshore export cables are used to transfer power from offshore wind farms to land. The contracts cover a total of approx. 300 km of 275 kV cables. Established in 1999, ZTT is a leader in the design and manufacture of custom-made marine equipment.
“The plan for the development of offshore wind energy in Poland assumes that by 2040 offshore wind farms built in the Polish economic zone in the Baltic Sea will be able to supply 18 GW of power to the national power system. This energy must be safely and reliably brought to the mainland by cables. By signing further, important contracts with experienced market players, we are consistently and according to plan moving forward with the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm project, and thus we improve Poland’s energy security,” said Ørsted Offshore Poland Managing Director Agata Staniewska.
Ørsted Wind Power A/S belongs to the Danish energy group headed by Ørsted A/S. The Ørsted Group mainly develops, builds and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage and bioenergy plants.
The PGE Group generates 41% of net electricity production in Poland, and its share in the heat market is 18%. The Group estimates its share in the renewable energy market at 10%. In a distribution area of approx. 123,000 sq. km2 PGE serves 5.5 million customers. Its market share in terms of the volume of distributed electricity is 25%, and sales to end users – 33%. The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2009.