BC-WIND
Project Description
The investment is Ocean Winds' first project in Poland and has been under construction since 2012. At that time, the company received a location decision (so-called permit to erect artificial islands) for project B, and in 2013 - part C. In March 2021, a grid connection agreement was signed. In June last year, the project received the right to a Contract for Difference (CfD) from the Energy Regulatory Office, making it one of the first offshore investments to be completed in Poland.
BC-Wind is an offshore wind farm with a capacity of up to 500 MW, located approximately 23 km offshore at an altitude north of the municipalities of Krokowa and Choczewo in the Pomeranian Province.
23 km
from the coastline, to the north of Krokowa and Choczewo municipalities
35-60 m
sea depth at the farm location
90,94 km2
area (with PSZW)
BC-WIND
Main
numbers
Development
current project phase
Monopile
type of foundation
up to 34
number of wind turbines
from 13 MW
MW per wind turbine
500 MW
MW of installed wind farm capacity
Works
Status of works
Current tasks for 2024
- Designing the layout of the offshore wind farm in the offshore part.
- Design of connection infrastructure in the onshore part.
- Selection of the designer by means of tendering procedure.
- Obtaining the environmental decision for the onshore part of wind farm.
- Continuation of geological research in the offshore part (geotechnics).
- Update of Supply Chain Plan.
- Continuation of the dialogue with the community of Choczewo and Władysławowo commune.
- Continuation of dialogue with potential suppliers and companies interested in co-operation with Ocean Winds.
- Continuation of educational activities about offshore wind farms.
- Recruitment and development of Ocean Winds team in Poland.
- Application for new locations for offshore wind farms.
BC-Wind is in the so-called development phase, preparing the investment for a construction permit. The project has already obtained the right to financing under Phase I of offshore wind farm development in Poland on the basis of a differential contract.
@Otary
Investment process
Key
investment stages
How we started
Project history
Year
Important facts
Completion of offshore geophysical and geotechnical campaign
Contract for development of design documentation with construction permit for offshore export cables of BC-Wind offshore wind farm.
Signing of initial service port lease agreement
Obtain an environmental decision for the offshore part
Submission of report and application for environmental decision.
Obtaining permission to lay and maintain submarine cables for the connection infrastructure.
Completion of the two-year wind measurement campaign.
Obtaining the right to a Contract for Difference (CfD).
Signed agreement for connection to the National Power System.
Completion of preliminary geological research of the seabed.
Issue of grid connection conditions by the Polish Power Grid.
Commencement of environmental studies (to assess the environmental impact of the investment).
Launch of wind measurement campaign at BC-Wind site.
Launch of Ocean Winds operations in Poland.
Establishment of Ocean Winds as a 50/50 joint venture, by spinning off investments in offshore wind farms from the portfolio of ENGIE and EDP Renewables.
Issued location permits for C-Wind and B-Wind (so called permits for erecting artificial islands).
FAQ
Questions and answers
Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies. Its use is increasing worldwide, partly due to falling costs. According to the latest figures from IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), global onshore and offshore wind capacity has increased almost 98-fold over the past two decades, from 7.5 gigawatts (GW) in 1997 to around 732 GW in 2020.
To put the world on a climate-safe pathway, IRENA’s 1.5°C scenario foresees a massive growth of offshore wind, ocean energy and floating photovoltaic in the coming decades. Offshore wind for example would increase from 34 gigawatts (GW) today to 380 GW by 2030 and more than 2,000 GW by 2050.
Wind is used to generate electricity using the kinetic energy produced by moving air. This is converted into electricity using wind turbines or wind energy conversion systems. The wind first strikes the blades of the turbine, causing them to rotate and the turbine connected to them to rotate. This converts the kinetic energy into rotational energy, moving the shaft connected to the generator and thus generating electricity through electromagnetism.
It is assumed that turbines start operating at a wind speed of around 3m/s, i.e. a ‘light wind’. This speed is measured at the height of the turbine rotor, where it blows stronger than at the base.
When the wind stops blowing the wind turbines stop, however the wind farm can still provide services to the transmission grid operator consisting in the so-called reactive power compensation.
There is a wind vane at the top of each turbine: this tells the turbine the speed and direction the wind is blowing. The turbine then rotates on the tower to face into the wind, and the blades rotate on their axis to create maximum resistance against the wind. The wind starts turning the blades which are connected to a hub and a low-speed shaft.
The low-speed shaft spins at the same speed as the blades (7-12 revolutions per minute). But we need a much faster rotational speed for the generator to produce electricity. That’s why most wind turbines have a gearbox, which multiplies the rotational speed of the low-speed shaft by over 100 times to the high-speed shaft, which rotates up to 1,500 revolutions per minute. This is connected to a generator, which converts the kinetic energy into electricity. Turbines that do not have a gearbox are connected directly from the hub to the generator through their axis (this is called ‚direct-drive’).
Energy generated by offshore wind farms is clean – it does not pollute the air, noise from the turbines is not audible, and the farms themselves are energy efficient. Therefore, they enjoy public trust. Offshore energy is a cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet Europe’s 2050 climate goals. The offshore location of the turbines does not affect the coastal landscape and at the same time provides a development opportunity for the local community, a range of long supply chain industries including shipbuilding and the port sector.
In general, the advantages of offshore farms far outweigh their disadvantages.
The water environment causes a significant risk of corrosion and requires much better protection of both the foundation and the structure itself. Because offshore wind farms are much more difficult to access, much more expensive and resilient materials must be used to maximize the need to replace parts in the event of failure. Therefore, more reliable, which means much more expensive turbines are used. The operating costs of offshore power plants, for example, are higher compared to onshore farms because access to the power plants is more difficult.
Investors are therefore trying to minimize maintenance expenditures based primarily on international experience in the construction and operation of already operating offshore wind farms.
Construction and operation of offshore wind farms is planned to be completely safe for both coastal residents and the rest of the country.
These investments are planned in multiple stages and in order to fully utilize the potential of offshore energy, parallel modernization and expansion of power grids as well as energy storage and management systems are necessary.
The Baltic Sea, just after the North Sea, creates the best conditions for the development of offshore wind energy. It is a relatively shallow sea with low salinity, low waves and steady winds.
Currently, more than 20 GW of offshore wind capacity is installed in European waters, of which about 2 GW is located in the Baltic Sea (Denmark 872 MW, Finland 68 MW, Germany 1,074 MW and Sweden 192 MW). Wind Europe predicts that 9 GW could easily be installed in the Baltic Sea by 2030. With the right ambition from governments and intensified regional cooperation, this capacity could rise to more than 14 GW.
Source: WindEurope-Boosting-offshore-wind.pdf
Ocean Winds is convinced of the potential of the Baltic Sea and wants to strengthen its position in Poland. It is already present in Europe with operational wind farms in Portugal (Windfloat Atlantic), United-Kingdom (Moray East) and Belgium (Seamade) and additional development projects in the UK and France.
The BC-Wind farm will be located approximately 23 km from the coastline, to the north of Krokowa and Choczewo municipalities in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea.
The first energy from the BC-Wind offshore wind farm will flow in 2027.