The first high-voltage transformer has been placed on one of four offshore substations that will be installed at the Baltica 2 offshore wind project site in the Polish Baltic Sea.
The substations will collect electricity from the 107 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW-222 turbines , stepping up the voltage, and transmitting the electricity to shore.
“Installing the transformer is a defining moment. It’s where construction turns into real energy infrastructure – and where months of precise planning and engineering become visible progress,” said Ulrik Lange , Managing Director of the Baltica 2 project at Ørsted.
Each topside substation will stand about 45 metres tall once installed at the site and weigh approximately 3,000 tonnes.
Work on the offshore substations is progressing according to plan, said one of the developers. The first two units are already structurally complete.
The remaining two substations are being coated and prepared for equipment installation, so that the entire Baltica 2 transmission system is planned to be ready for commissioning in 2027.
Semco Maritime and PTSC M&C are responsible for the design, manufacturing, and commissioning of the offshore substations under a contract signed with the project’s developers, PGE Group and Ørsted in 2023.
The manufacturing of the substation platforms for the 1.5 GW offshore wind farm commenced at the end of last year.
The substations will be transported to the site located in the Polish section of the Baltic Sea, approximately 40 kilometres off the coast of Poland between Łeba and Ustka by Seaway7.
In January 2025, PGE Group and Ørsted took the final investment decision (FID) on the 1.5 GW Baltica 2. The project is expected to be fully commissioned in 2027.