Poland’s Council of Ministers adopts draft offshore wind bill

Poland’s Council of Ministers has adopted the draft bill supporting the development of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea.

This summer, the Polish government published the revised draft offshore wind bill which would allow for 5.9 GW of capacity to be offered via Contracts for Difference (CfDs) by the end of June 2021.

According to the government, the bill introduces a number of improvements, including that administrative and legal procedures have been simplified, reducing the investors’ time to implement investments.

It will also see investors required to carry out a dialogue with potential suppliers of materials and services for the offshore wind farms, which is expected to provide an opportunity for Polish enterprises that will be part of the supply chain.

“Offshore wind energy is an important step towards building emission-free energy. We have a chance to become a leader in the development of offshore farms in the Baltic Sea with a forecasted potential of installed capacity, estimated in the WindEurope report, even at 28 GW in 2050,” said Michał Kurtyka, Polish Minister of Climate and Environment. “The Baltic Sea has a very large potential that has not been used in this matter.”

The 5.9 GW in the first phase of development correspond to the real potential of advanced projects, i.e. those that already have or will be able to sign a connection agreement within a specified period of time.

The government plans the second phase of development to include two auctions, the first in 2025 and the second in 2027, both for 2.5 GW of capacity. This means that the recently revised draft does not include the 2023 and 2028 auctions as announced in January.