Poland is set to hold its first auction for offshore wind farms in December 2025, the country’s Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) announced this week. Equinor and Polenergia have submitted a pre-qualification application to ERO for the Bałtyk 1 offshore wind farm project to participate in the first offshore auction in Poland.
The first auction for offshore wind farms will be held on 17 December this year in electronic form. The maximum total installed electrical capacity of offshore wind farms that may be eligible for negative balance coverage is 4 GW .
The price for the electricity indicated in the offer, which will be the basis for settling the right to cover the negative balance cannot be higher than the maximum price specified in the regulations of the environment ministry in January 2025 , said ERO.
The financing of the support system for offshore wind farms, similarly to auctions for the sale of electricity from renewable sources, will be carried out from renewable energy fees collected by the electricity transmission system operator (TSO).
Equinor, Polenergia Submit Bałtyk 1 Pre-Qualification Application
With a capacity of up to 1,560 MW, Bałtyk 1 is the largest offshore wind project in Poland, implemented in the so-called Phase 2 of offshore development, according to the joint venture between Polenergia and Equinor.
The auction is expected to be competitive and will select projects offering the most favorable energy sales prices under a 25-year contract for difference support system.
Located about 81 kilometres from the coast, the Bałtyk 1 offshore wind farm will feature up to 104 turbines and will be able to power up to two million Polish households with renewable energy.
The project received a legally valid environmental decision, a permit for the construction and operation of artificial islands, structures, and equipment within Polish maritime zones. In addition, the developers signed a transmission grid connection agreement with Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne in 2021.
Bałtyk 1 is the third offshore wind project in the Polish Baltic Sea developed by Equinor and Polenergia, next to the currently implemented Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3, for which final investment decisions have been made.
The total capacity of the three offshore wind projects developed by the partners is 3 GW.