Northland Power wins Polish offshore wind contract

Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office has awarded Northland Power and PKN Orlen a 25-year contract for difference (CfD) for their up-to 1200MW Baltic Power Baltic Power (1200MW) Offshoreoff Łeba and Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, Europe Click to see full details offshore wind farm.

The developers secured a CfD at a price of PLN 319.60/MWh (€70.88/MWh), subject to adjustments and approvals from the Polish authorities and the European Commission.

Construction is expected to start in 2023 ahead of commercial operations in 2026.

Northland owns a 49% stake in Baltic Power, while PKN Orlen owns the majority 51% stake.

Mike Crawley, Northland Power’s CEO, said: “The CfD is a key milestone that provides the project with revenue certainty to proceed with development and confirms our inclusion in the initial phase of offshore wind development in Poland. 

“Full-scale development of Baltic Power will expand our European offshore wind presence and help us to establish an offshore wind hub in the Baltic Sea.”

Poland’s energy regulator has also awarded CfDs to a pairing of Equinor and Polenergia, an Ørsted-PGE joint venture and RWE Renewables.

It has now awarded 5.5GW of offshore wind capacity in the Baltic Sea.

The award is part of an allocation phase that could see a total of up to 5.9GW of offshore wind capacity selected by the end of June 2021. The regulator is then due to award a further 5GW through two competitive tenders in 2025 and 2027.

Nine applications were submitted in the first allocation phase, according to the Polish Wind Energy Association (PSEW).