Norwegian energy company Equinor and its Polish partner Polenergia have selected Siemens Gamesa as the preferred supplier of wind turbine generators for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III offshore wind projects in Poland.
Equinor said the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III were two of the largest and most advanced offshore wind farms being developed in Poland, with a total installed capacity of 1440 MW.
"The signing of the preferred supplier agreement is a key milestone for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III projects. It is an important step towards delivering on the projects’ goal of providing offshore wind energy as a significant part of the Polish energy transformation," Equinor said.
Under the announced deal Siemens Gamesa will deliver its flagship model SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbine to cover the maximum combined capacity of both projects. The turbine has 14 MW nominal power and can reach up to 15 MW capacity with Power Boost.
This is Siemens Gamesa’s largest direct-drive offshore wind turbine and it will have been running commercially for a couple of years when installed on Equinor and Polenergia’s projects. The exact number of machines remains to be determined at a later phase of the development upon completing the final turbine supply agreement and service and warranty agreements, Equinor said.
"With the large modern wind turbines selected for the Equinor and Polenergia projects, one rotation of the rotor at full load will supply enough electricity for one average household in Poland for 4 days. When one turbine is running at full load, it will only take 10 minutes to produce the electricity needed to power one average Polish household for one year," Equinor said.
"We believe that our offshore wind farms will provide clean, green energy for millions of Polish households by 2027” - says Michał Michalski, Ph.D., president of the Management Board of Polenergia.
The combined capacity of both projects adds up to 1440 MW which is a substantial part of the first phase of Polish offshore wind industry development scheme with a total capacity of 5900 MW. MFW Bałtyk II and III were awarded Contracts for Difference (CfDs) in May 2021 by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office (ERO). The projects are located in the Baltic Sea, approximately 27 and 40 kilometers from the port of Łeba where Equinor has acquired a plot for its future operations and maintenance (O&M) base port.
The final investment decision for both projects is subject to obtaining the necessary permits and is planned for 2024 with the first power delivered to the grid in 2027.