Orlen Group and Northland Power build onshore substation for Baltic Power wind farm
In the commune of Choczewo, Orlen Group and Northland Power have started constructing an onshore substation for the Baltic Power wind farm, expected to be ready in 2026. The station, PKN Orlen explained, will enable to supply of electricity produced at sea to the grid.
The substation, which is the onshore part of the Baltic Power wind farm, will serve as a hub for cable lines transmitting electricity from offshore substations nearly 30km away, the company said on Monday. Construction of the onshore substation for the Baltic Power wind farm has started in the Choczewo municipality, it reported.
– We are the first company in Poland to start the construction of infrastructure enabling the supply of electricity produced at sea to the grid,” PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek said, as quoted in the company’s press release. At the same time, he stressed that works on the installation terminal for offshore wind farms in Świnoujście had also begun.
– We are not slowing down, as investments in modern, zero-emission energy are the pillar of our strategy. Offshore wind farms, next to small nuclear reactors, will be the key to transforming the Polish power system and strengthening the energy security of our region,” said PKN Orlen’s CEO.
Obajtek assured that the company is fully prepared to implement an investment on the Baltic Sea – the construction of a wind farm, which “already in 2026 will provide clean, accessible energy for millions of Poles”.
The entire infrastructure accompanying the Baltic Power farm “has been designed to minimise the environmental impact of the investment”.
– The course of the onshore cable route has been designed so that the investment interferes minimally with the natural environment and avoids valuable natural areas, the company assured.
Almost the entire route of the approximately 7 km long overland cable section will be routed underground. This also applies to the beach. Thanks to the so-called steerable drilling, the power outlet to the land will be routed at a depth of approximately 10 metres underground”, it will be invisible and will not affect the possibility of using the beach.
– Baltic Power is an example of an investment that places particular emphasis on environmental protection, sustainability and respect for local communities, aspects that are so important to both Northland Power and our partner. We are all the more pleased that the Baltic Power project is reaching another such important milestone,” stated Mike Crawley, CEO of Northland Power.
As he added, the Baltic Power farm, the construction of which will start in 2024 as planned, would provide the first supply of green energy for Poland in the coming years.
PKN Orlen said that a consortium of GE and Enprom is responsible for the design, construction and supply of the necessary components for the onshore substation, which is being built in the Choczewo municipality, with GE performing the electrical system design and providing the high-voltage power components and the Polish company Enprom preparing the design and being responsible for the overall construction of the substation.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
