Orlen wants to increase green capacity

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Copernicus project, Orlen photovoltaic farm. Photo: Orlen.
Copernicus project, Orlen photovoltaic farm. Photo: Orlen.

The Orlen Group plans to increase its capacity in the renewable energy sector by about a third. Orlen Wind 3, a member of the Orlen Group, has signed a preliminary agreement with EDP Renewables Polska for the purchase of two photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of 280 MWp located in Lubuskie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships and a wind farm with a capacity of 26 MW in the Łódzkie voivodeship.

The value of the contract is about 1.15 billion zlotys. Upon completion of this transaction, ORLEN Group’s renewable capacity will increase by almost 30 percent. The new farms will produce about 400 GWh of energy per year, which corresponds to the energy consumption of nearly 182 thousand households.

„We have pledged to accelerate and we keep our word. The agreement we signed will allow us to increase our portfolio in RES by more than 300 MW in total. The new capacity represents as much as a third of what Orlen has built in the renewable energy sector over the past few years. However, it’s not just the scale that matters to us, but also the economic calculations, which in the case of this transaction are favorable for us and allow us to genuinely build the value of the company. We want to be a key player in the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe, so we are not stopping and we are carefully analyzing the next attractive projects appearing on the green market in order to fully exploit all business opportunities,” says Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of Orlen.

One of the purchased photovoltaic farms is located in Chotków, Żagań county, in the Lubuskie voivodeship, and has a capacity of 40 MWp. The second farm, with a capacity of 200 MWp (with the possibility of expansion by an additional 40 MWp), is located on the territory of a former brown coal mine in the municipality of Przykona, in the Wielkopolskie voivodeship. When completed, it will be the largest photovoltaic farm in Poland. The Warta wind farm, with a capacity of 26 MW, consisting of 13 turbines, is located in the Łódzkie voivodeship.

„This is the second transaction we’ve made with Orlen. It highlights the quality of our assets and the sustainability of our rotation strategy. We will continue our commitment to further activities in Poland. As one of the largest foreign investors in the country, with more than 1 GW of capacity already developed and installed, which we will increase in the coming months, including the country’s first hybrid wind and solar park, we still see Poland as a key market for EDP,” emphasizes Duarte Bello, Chief Operating Officer of EDP Renewables for Europe.

The Orlen Group plans to reach the level of 9 GW of installed capacity in renewable energy sources by 2030, also developing offshore wind energy. Together with Canada’s Northland Power, Orlen is implementing the Baltic Power investment, which aims to deliver nearly 1.2 GW of zero-emission energy by 2026, capable of powering more than 1.5 million households.

Orlen / Mateusz Gibała