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It seems that the decision on the development of offshore wind farms has already been made. The next element is the connection. Who will implement them and who will pay for them? Integrated energy transmission systems based on marine power cables are an opportunity. Poland can implement such projects with Sweden and Lithuania, as well as with Denmark, said Mariusz Wójcik from the Foundation for Sustainable Energy in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.
The end of winter and the beginning of spring is a clear signal showing the growing interest in offshore wind farms. Norwegian Statoil has decided to invest in two wind farms belonging to Polenergia with a capacity of 1200 MW, and Polska Grupa Energetyczna has announced the implementation of a low-carbon scenario for the Group, which is about investing in offshore wind farms. Until 2025, the company would like to implement the project of offshore wind farms with a capacity of 1000 MW, and by 2030 even with a capacity of 2,500 MW. The government also changed the provisions of the draft amendment to the RES Act, which will allow offshore wind farm projects to start in auctions without the need for a building permit, which will be required at a later stage of implementation.
The industry development strategy is necessary
In an interview with BiznesAlert.pl, Mariusz Wójcik from the Foundation for Sustainable Energy said that the entrance of a foreign investor shows that there is potential for development in Poland. The PGE Declaration also reveals that there is a potential. – Commitment to the project also shows a change in the approach of the Polish government, which sees the potential and opportunities for the country. Amendments to the RES Act indicate that this year may be a breakthrough for the development of offshore wind energy – emphasized the interlocutor of the portal.
However, he said that the sector’s development should not close around three Polenergia and PGE projects with a total capacity of 2,2 GW. They already have connection agreements. – These decisions together with environmental permits, which Polenergia already has, and which PGE is seeking for, enable applying for support under the auction system. No need to have a building permit, which is an expensive and long-term process, is to eliminate one of the barriers. It is necessary to create a holistic development system. The FNEZ proposal is about the construction of a power plant in the Baltic Sea with a capacity of 4 GW by 2030, and by 2035 8 GW. It is necessary to eliminate barriers to currently implemented projects and to create a framework for further ones that do not have a connection agreement, but have a decision on location (PSZW) – said Wójcik. One possible solution is to link the auction system with the network connection agreement. – It is also about creating solutions for the third group of projects that have neither a location decision nor a connection agreement – he stressed. Creating a strategic industry framework is a key condition for creating a strong supply chain in Poland with a mature production and logistics base and maximizing benefits for the national economy.
Three connection options
When asked about joining future offshore wind farm projects, Wójcik listed possible variants of connections, indicating that there are three scenarios. – The first is one that assumes the full costs of the investor. This is the basic model implemented in Poland. The second option, following the German model, is connected with the necessity to implement the connection by the operator. There is also a British model, in which the bond is financed and realized by the investor, and then re-sold to the operator – he mentioned.
How to reduce costs?
As regards the connection of offshore transmission cables to wind farms and the form of connection to the system, which can reduce the investment costs, Wójcik said that such solutions are at an early stage of implementation. About integrated networks “Meshed grid” is mainly referred to in the context of the North Sea, where there are the most offshore wind farms. In turn, in the Baltic Sea, a pilot project of the Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm is being implemented on a global scale, which is integrated with the Denmark-Germany connection. – We as the Foundation are involved in the Baltic Intergrid project and we are working on the early stage of the feasibility study for the Poland-Sweden connection with the possibility of joining with Lithuania the integration of offshore wind farms. We analyze whether wind farms implemented in Sweden, Poland and Lithuania can be combined. We are looking for the answer to the question of whether it is technically feasible and profitable. We will present the final results at the conference in June in Warsaw, but there are already interesting conclusions. In the case of construction of an interconnector integrated with offshore wind farms, one can apply for support under the EU Connecting Europe Facility instrument, Wójcik pointed out. Benefits include cost reduction and the ability to connect markets – and thus import and export energy.
The second element is the too many cables that will be going ashore, which will be problematic due to environmental and social conditions. The connection at sea of offshore power plants through one connection will streamline the logistics process. In the case of integrating sea farms, we can talk about three times fewer cables – he said. As mentioned, the construction of a new undersea cable with Sweden and with Denmark may be involved. – The connection with Denmark has been inscribed in the perspective of a 10-year network development plan – he reminded.
Costs
When asked about the cost of offshore wind farms, Wójcik presented, in accordance with the Foundation’s approach, different variants based on calculations of the cost of energy production. – If the wind farm is built in 2025, then the energy cost will be in the range of 87-92 euro per MW/h, and in the case of 2030 it will reach approx. 85-87 euro per MW/h. The calculations relate to such investments in which the investor will perform the connection itself. The cost of connections is approx. 20 percent. However, if the cost of connections would be on the part of the operator, then the price falls in the same period to EUR 71-73 per MW/h, and in the case of 2030 it costs between EUR 71 and 68 per MW/h – Wójcik counted. He stressed that the cost in Europe a few years ago was over 100 euros, and today the auction price reaches already 50-60 euros per MW/h. In the Netherlands, the tender for the construction of a seafaring farm without support was settled in the last days. In Poland, offshore wind farms can be built without support around 2027-2030. However, certain conditions have to be met, such as taking over the connection costs, eg by the operator, developing the domestic supply chain, and synergy between several projects.
