DNV AS has signed a contract for the certification of two wind farms on the Polish side of the Baltic Sea, owned by Equinor ASA and the local cooperative Polenergia SA.
The MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III projects, intended to be connected to the Polish grid, have a planned capacity of 720 megawatts (MW) each, which together would be enough to power more than two million homes, according to information from the site Equinor website.
“DNV’s scope of work includes the delivery of certificates for wind farms related to design, manufacture/installation/commissioning and operation in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and codes,” the Norwegian company said of quality assurance and risk management in a recent press release. The certification is subject to certification of the projects’ wind turbine generators, offshore substation platform, inter-array cables and offshore export cables, he said.
It did not disclose the contract value of the joint ventures Equinor and Polenergia MFW Baltyk II Sp. ZOO and MFW Baltyk III Sp. ZOO.
“This move by Poland to expand its offshore wind capacity is supported by DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2022 report, which states that the share of offshore wind in total wind electricity generation will increase constant, rising from 8% in 2020 to 34% in 2020. 2050,” Kim Sandgaard-Mork, DNV’s executive vice president of renewable energy certification, said in a statement.
“During the forecast period, Europe will maintain its leading position in terms of the share of electricity demand met through offshore wind sources, both fixed-bottom and floating.”
Equinor has interests in the three Baltyk wind farms: MFW Baltyk I, II and III. Baltyk I has a planned capacity of 1,560 MW, according to the owners. Equinor and Polenergia are 50-50 co-owners each.
The wind farm area is 49.71 miles (80 kilometers) from the port of Leba, with water depths of 82.02-127.95 feet (25-39 meters), according to information on the website of pole energy
The wind farms have an expected operating period of 25-30 years, states Polenergia on its website.
Last week, Equinor said it had acquired a 26 MW wind farm onshore in Poland from Helios Group. The Wilko wind farm in Wielkopolska province will be operated by Equinor’s subsidiary in Poland, where the majority Norwegian state-owned company aims to “be a preferred partner contributing to the Polish energy transition and Norwegian-Polish energy cooperation”, as stated on their website.
“The asset will provide immediate production and cash flow,” Equinor said in a Sept. 6 press release. “The cumulative annual production is estimated at 105 GWh. [gigawatt hours] of energy per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 50,000 Polish households”.
Olav Kolbeinstveit, Equinor’s senior vice president of onshore and renewable markets, said in a statement about the new asset: “Equinor’s renewable strategy is aimed at offering flexible energy from multi-technology positions in select markets.
“Through our Wento subsidiary, we have built a strong solar portfolio in Poland. By adding onshore wind to Wento’s portfolio of operated assets, we transform Wento into a multi-technology power producer.”
Equinor explained: “Solar and onshore wind tend to have complementary generation profiles, meaning solar can balance shortfalls in wind generation and vice versa.”
“Therefore, a combination of the two technologies can deliver more reliable power generation, reduce portfolio risk and enhance value creation,” he said.
Poland depends on fossil fuels for its energy needs. Hard coal accounted for 21.9 percent of household energy consumption in the central European country in 2021, compared with the European Union average of 2.5 percent, according to the annual energy report of 2023 from the Polish statistics agency citing the EU counterpart Eurostat. Solid biomass accounted for 22.4%, natural gas 20.6%, liquefied petroleum gas 2.4% and light fuel oil 0.5%.
“Diversification of generation sources and energy supplies is key to successfully decarbonizing Poland’s energy system and improving its energy security,” said Michal Jerzy Kolodziejczyk, Country Manager of Equinor in Poland. “With this agreement, we can further expand our extensive energy offer in Poland, which includes gas supplies via the Baltic Pipe, large-scale offshore wind projects, solar power and now also onshore wind.”
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