In Brussels on the development of Baltic offshore

A meeting with European Union officials, new members of the European Parliament, heads of companies, representatives of accredited organizations in Brussels and the press took place in the Belgian capital on 10^th of July 2019.

The President of the Polish Electricity Association Henryk Baranowski, who opened the event, emphasized that the Polish energy sector has aspirations to make investments on the Baltic Sea. - PGE Baltica is planning to deliver first wind electricity by 2026. Through the Baltic Offshore project, we want to show our commitment to make the energy sector climate neutral – said Mr Baranowski.  He also assured that other big projects are already on their way. - PGE is planning to build further 2,5GW of PVs. Moreover, Tauron announced to add 900 MW of onshore to its energy mix by 2025. Thanks to PKEE members new investments, we are pleased to say that the share of RES in power generation in Poland is estimated at 27% by 2030 – noted.

During the high-level panel, its participants - Monika Morawiecka, President of the Management Board PGE Baltica, Pernille Weiss, Danish Politician and Member of the European Parliament, Giles Dickson, Chief Executive Officer of WindEurope, and Gunnar Groebler, Senior Vice President of Business Area Wind At Vattenfall - discussed local solutions for the challenges posed by the transformation of the European Union's energy sector. The debate focused on the development of wind energy on the Baltic Sea.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson when asked about the chances of developing Baltic Sea offshore admitted that the potential is huge. - The Baltic has strong and stable winds, less extreme conditions than the North Sea, shallow water depths and short distances to shore. There’s already 1.5 GW of offshore wind installed in the Baltic, 12% of Europe’s current offshore capacity. But we foresee this rising up to 9-14 GW by 2030. This will deliver clean, affordable electricity as well as a significant opportunity to create jobs and investments in coastal regions – explained. He expects that Poland will be a key driver in delivering these volumes.

Monika Morawiecka, President of the Management Board PGE Baltica, indicated that according to the estimates, by 2030 the Baltic Sea will become the second largest wind farm location in the world. This is a great opportunity also for Poland. - If we implement the plan to install more than 4,6 GW of capacity by 2030, we will become one of the biggest players in the European offshore sector - she said. - Moreover, it brings a great potential of economic development of the country, increasing the innovation of the Polish maritime, shipbuilding and steel industry and transformation towards a low-carbon economy - she stressed.

According to Gunnar Groebler Senior Vice President of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall the Baltic Sea is a very promising offshore wind market - The Polish 10 GW ambition for 2040 is particularly encouraging. Cross-border cooperation in the region will be key to utilize the full potential – he stated.

Pernille Weiss, Danish politician and member of the European Parliament, pointed out that the construction of offshore wind farms is a relatively young way of acquiring electricity. The pioneers of this technology are the Danes. - We opened the first Vindeby farm with a capacity of only 3 MW in 1991 – she reminded.

She quoted the data in which the leaders in terms of power generated at the sea is Great Britain, Germany, China. - Four wind farms belonging to Denmark with wind energy producing enough electricity to cover 44% of its domestic consumption last year – she announced.

The event, which gathered nearly 300 people, was also attended by representatives of the Polish energy sector, including Jacek Ko?cielniak, vice-president of the management board for financial affairs of Energa and Tomasz Siwak, vice-president of the management board for the development strategy of Enea Wytwarzanie.