Equinor and Polenergia have reached financial close for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms in Poland, for which the joint venture partners secured two project financing packages of over EUR 3 billion for each wind farm, including ancillary facilities. The finance packages will fund the capital investment and other expenses of each of the projects during the construction process, totalling approximately EUR 7.2 billion.
According to a press release the joint venture issued on 23 May, Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 have secured competitive terms and conditions following strong interest from lenders. The financing is provided by a group comprising around 30 financial institutions, including the most experienced in the sector, along with many of Equinor’s core banks, the Nordic Investment Bank and the European Investment Bank, the company said.
“With financial close reached for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3, the last important milestone is passed ahead of full-scale construction. We appreciate the strong interest and support from lenders. This underpins the attractiveness of the projects and the confidence in Polenergia and Equinor as developers” , said Trine Borum Bojsen , Equinor’s senior vice president for Renewables in Europe.
The financial close comes shortly after the joint venture took the final investment decision (FID) for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3.
The two wind farms, each with an installed capacity of 720 MW, are located 22-37 kilometres off the Polish coast, where 100 wind turbines will be installed, 50 at each of the two project sites.
Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 will be built in parallel, with all key suppliers already selected and contracted.
Siemens Gamesa will supply 100 of its SG 14-236 DD wind turbines, which will be installed by Cadeler . The foundations will be supplied by the Dutch company Sif and the export cables will be delivered by Greece’s Hellenic Cables.
The operations and maintenance (O&M) base for the two wind farms will be situated in Łeba in northern Poland. The base will serve as a centre for marine operations and support during the construction phase. Equinor is the owner of the base and will be the operator of the projects.
Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 are expected to produce first power as early as 2027, with full commercial power production expected in 2028.