Bids fall short in Poland’s first offshore wind auction

Three projects with a total generation capacity of 3,435MW out of a potential 4,000MW were awarded as follows:

• ORLEN Neptun VIII Sp. z o.o. – Baltic East Offshore Wind Farm, with an installed electrical capacity of 900MW; Developer: Orlen
• Elektrownia Wiatrowa Baltica 9 Sp. z o.o. – Baltica 9 Offshore Wind Farm, with an installed electrical capacity of 975MW; Developer: PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna)
• MFW Bałtyk I S.A. – Bałtyk I Offshore Wind Farm, with an installed electric capacity of 1,560MW; Developer: Polenergia and Equinor

Each owner is committed to send electricity to the Polish grid within seven years, for 25 years.

Using a Contracts for Difference model, where the owner is guaranteed a certain price if the market price falls, and has to pay back if the price goes higher.

“The first auction for offshore wind energy in Poland is an event of major importance on the path of our country’s energy transition,” said Renata Mroczek, president of the ERO. 

“The fact that it was successfully conducted gives me great satisfaction. The preparation and organisation of the offshore auction involved numerous challenges for the Office I am in charge of, operating in a complex and dynamically changing regulatory environment. This confirms the Regulator’s ability to support the strategic objectives of the state in the energy sector.”

WindEurope has hailed the auction results, calling the Polish model a ’stabilising force for the industry and a blueprint for other markets’.

“But Europe is not building enough,” the organisation believes. ”The target was 120GW by 2020. Today there are 37GW. At best, Europe will reach 70GW. Poland’s success shows what is possible with clear rules and strong planning.”