PM says Baltic wind farm key to Poland's energy security
Poland's first offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea will become a key element of the country's energy security and sovereignty, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday after electricity from the project reached the newly built Choczewo electricity substation in northern Poland.
The Baltic Power wind farm is being developed by state-owned energy firm Orlen and Canada's Northland Power, while the Choczewo substation, operated by Poland's transmission system operator PSE, is responsible for transmitting electricity from offshore wind farms to the national grid.
"This substation and, soon, the 76 turbines standing in the Baltic Sea will become another key element of our energy security and energy sovereignty," Tusk told a press conference in Choczewo.
He said that the first electricity had already flowed from a Polish offshore wind farm and stressed that, amid geopolitical uncertainty, it was essential for Poland to have energy sources independent of external instability.
Referring to Russia's war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, Tusk said recent events had demonstrated that there could be no national security without energy security.
"Energy is as important as weapons and the armed forces," he said.
Tusk described the project as technologically ambitious, noting that 54 of the planned 76 turbines had already been installed. He said the structures would be taller than Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science and, measured from their foundations beneath the seabed, higher than Varso Tower, the European Union's tallest building.
He also said the wind farm's generating capacity would be comparable to that of the Belchatow power plant and would support the development of artificial intelligence, data centres and Poland's growing economy.
The Choczewo substation was financed entirely through Poland's National Recovery Plan at a cost of around PLN 530 million. PSE said the entire offshore grid connection project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027.
The 1.2 GW Baltic Power project is due to be completed this autumn, becoming Poland's first offshore wind farm. The project has reached the "first power" stage, meaning the first turbine has begun producing electricity and the gradual commissioning of the wind farm has started. (PAP)
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