Powering up in Poland: RWE and Siemens Gamesa join forces to boost Polish offshore wind industry

RWE and Siemens Gamesa join forces to accelerate the offshore wind growth in Poland. RWE selected Siemens Gamesa as preferred supplier for their F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind project. The 350 MW wind farm is intended to utilize 25 of Siemens Gamesa’s flagship SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines. A Service agreement is included. Subject to the final investment decision, construction works could commence as early as 2024. Once fully operational, F.E.W. Baltic II will contribute to Poland’s energy transition by producing enough green electricity to supply the equivalent needs of around 350,000 Polish households.

“With selecting Siemens Gamesa as preferred supplier, we have passed the next milestone on the way to realising our first Polish offshore wind farm. With our F.E.W. Baltic II project, we will accelerate the development of the local supply chain and contribute significantly to the education of future workforces,” explains Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Offshore Wind at RWE Renewables. “Offshore wind is gaining a real momentum in Poland and we want to be one of the key drivers by developing, constructing and operating further wind farms off the Polish coast.”

The agreement with RWE for its F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind farm will contribute to Siemens Gamesa’s ongoing cooperation with the Polish wind power supply chain with the average yearly purchases of the goods and services in Poland equal to more than 250 million Euro.

“Offshore wind power is rapidly becoming a tremendous asset for Poland, and we will do our best to be one of the key players in making it real. We are honored to have secured the preferred supplier award from RWE for F.E.W. Baltic II, one of the first offshore developments for the country. Combining our SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbine technology with RWE’s entrepreneurial approach to Poland is an excellent fit. We furthermore are encouraged by the drive found within our partners from academia to develop the future offshore workforce in Poland. We are confident that this development scheme will follow the path set by the Polish supply chain, where qualified companies already deliver to a wealth of projects, with more to come,” says Marc Becker, CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit.

To support the realisation of RWE’s F.E.W. Baltic II and various future offshore projects the new Siemens Gamesa Baltic Sea Offshore Execution center will consist of more than 150 experts. The specialists hired for this hub will cover such areas as preassembly activities, project management, construction management, commissioning for offshore wind farms in Poland and many other countries. Gdansk will be the main office location, and the first recruitments have begun. Together with the existing 20-member Siemens Gamesa Offshore Sales team in Poland, this will be the largest operation of its kind type in the Polish offshore wind industry.

For the operation and maintenance of its F.E.W. Baltic II project, RWE has chosen the Port of Ustka. With the planned service station in the Polish port, RWE intends to contribute to the local economy and society by creating up to 50 new jobs in the long run. It is expected that the service station will be ready by 2025. RWE plans to serve its wind farm for at least 25 years from this port.

Also, RWE and Siemens Gamesa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maritime University of Szczecin. The MoU is focused on identifying joint activities that support the education of students. It also encompasses exploring potential collaboration on certain research projects.

Artur Bejger, Vice-Rector for Science at the Maritime University of Szczecin, explains: „Signing an agreement with companies that are world leaders in the wind energy industry is a great honour for us on the one hand, and on the other hand it creates an opportunity for mutual development and benefits. I am convinced that through this cooperation we will create one of the best practical training programmes in the world, where RWE and Siemens Gamesa employees will share their knowledge and experience in modern technologies. I hope that the development of the cooperation will also result in transfer of knowledge of our scientists to RWE and Siemens Gamesa. Already today, many of them have expertise in securing, direct operation or exploitation of offshore technologies, as well as in problems occurring there. We expect that cooperations will expand the possibility of using research equipment produced at the Maritime University and verifying scientific concepts on a wind farm. This is important from the perspective of training staff with the highest competences, which is needed worldwide.”