Poland Awards Offshore Wind Licences

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Poland has taken the first significant step towards cleaning up its energy mix with the award of 14 licences for offshore windfarms in the Baltic Sea.

The country is dependent on coal-fired power plants for around 90% of its electricity generation and is under increased pressure from the European Union to reduce its reliance on fossil-fuel, in line with many of its European neighbours. The country is also heavily dependent on Russia for the vast majority of its gas and oil imports.

The country's transport Minister, Slawomir Nowak, made the announcement this week at an energy conference and claimed that there are an additional two dozen more offshore licence applications being evaluated. He claimed that wind conditions in the Baltic Sea off Poland's northern coast are very favourable.

"There is no date for opening the first farm, because experts need to test their possible effects on the environment," Nowak told the media. "They also must convince residents and fishermen that artificial islands on the Baltic will offer new workplaces and won't ruin the region's fishing industry or its value for vacationers."

In August this year Poland has set out a new renewable energy subsidy scheme aimed at boosting investments in renewable energy projects in order to move away from coal-fired generation. The proposed Renewable Energy Sources Act is expected to come into force in January 2013 and, in its current form, offers increased subsidies or Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) for solar and offshore wind projects at the expense of biomass and onshore wind. For additional information, see August 16, 2012, article - Poland Overhauling Renewable Energy Support .

Poland is also pursuing a plan to build its first nuclear power plant, despite the adverse effect that the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi disaster of last year has had on the nuclear futures of some European countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Italy. In July 2011, the government cleared the for building new nuclear power plants following the passing of the second of two bills by the country's parliament. For additional information see July 14, 2011, article - Poland Supports Nuclear Bill.

Last December, the country's leading energy company, Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE) (Warsaw, Poland) announced three possible sites for the first plant at Choczewo, Gaski and Zarnowiec. All three sites are undergoing simultaneous surveys and site characterisation work which will take two years. For additional information see December 6, 2011, article - PGE Shortlists Three Sites for Poland's First Nuclear Power Plant.

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