All 111 monopile foundations installed at Poland's Baltica 2 offshore wind farm

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dutch maritime contractor Van Oord has completed the installation of all 111 monopile foundations at the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm in Poland, of which 107 support wind turbines and 4 support the offshore substation. The completion of this milestone marks the conclusion of one of the most challenging offshore construction phases of the project.

The Baltica 2 offshore wind farm is located in the Polish Baltic Sea, approximately 40 kilometers from Ustka, and is being developed as a 50/50 joint venture between Poland's largest energy group, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, and Denmark's Ørsted. The project has a planned total installed capacity of 1.5 GW and is expected to meet the electricity needs of approximately 2.5 million Polish households once completed.

The monopile foundations installed in this phase measure up to 100 meters in length, range from 7.5 to 10.5 meters in diameter, and weigh approximately 1,900 tonnes each. As the main contractor for the transport and installation of the foundations and scour protection systems, Van Oord deployed two dedicated installation vessels, the "Svanen" and the "Aeolus". The parallel operation of the two vessels allowed the project team to flexibly adjust offshore work sequences based on weather windows, improving installation efficiency.

Ulrik Lange, Project Director of Ørsted Baltica 2, stated that the completion of monopile installation as planned "demonstrates the importance of thorough preparation and managing the dependencies between the various stages of work in offshore construction." Maurits den Broeder, Managing Director of Offshore Energy at Van Oord, stated that this milestone "is an important milestone for the project and for Poland's offshore wind ambitions."

Following the completion of monopile installation, the project has moved into the secondary steel installation phase, which includes the installation of more than 400 components such as anode cages, vessel mooring facilities, and internal and external platforms, 75% of which are manufactured in Poland. This work is expected to continue until the end of 2026. The offshore substation and export cables are scheduled for installation in the second half of 2026, while inter-array cables and the 107 wind turbines are planned for installation in 2027. The turbines, supplied by Siemens Gamesa with a capacity of 14 MW each, will be installed by Cadeler and Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. The project is expected to achieve first power in the first half of 2027, with full-capacity commercial operation by the end of that year.

Baltica 2 has obtained all required permits and has signed a grid connection contract with PSE, the Polish transmission system operator. The project also holds a 25-year inflation-indexed Contract for Difference (CfD) with the Polish government. The Port of Gdańsk will serve as the logistics base for storage, pre-assembly, and offshore installation of wind turbine components.