RWE enters Polish offshore wind development race

German utility RWE has acquired a pipeline of up to four offshore wind power projects in the Polish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, the company said on October 25.

The transaction shows growing interest in the Polish government’s plans to push for the development of around 10 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind power capacity in the Baltic Sea by the late 2020s. 

That is a key element in Warsaw’s plan to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the country’s power sector, currently running 80% on burning hard and lignite coal. 

There is an increasing pressure in the EU to step up reducing CO2 emissions to mitigate climate change in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims at keeping the global temperature growth at 1.5°C by 2100.

Poland also plans to develop nuclear power by the 2040s although the Polish nuclear power programme has stalled for over a decade now.

Poland’s long-term energy policy assumes the reduction of coal’s share in energy generation to below 50% in 2040.

The pipeline of offshore wind projects acquired by RWE has a combined capacity of over 1.5 GW, the company said. Construction could start in 2023, it added. The projects were acquired from “private owners and developers,” RWE said. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Poland’s energy trade press reported that one of the projects, with a capacity of 350 MW, is MFW Baltic II by Baltic Trade & Invest, a privately-owned investor in offshore wind.

“Poland is a very attractive emerging market for offshore wind, and one with the best untapped potential in Europe. RWE is keen to enter it early and leverage our global offshore capabilities and strong local presence, in order to help building a strong offshore wind sector in Poland,” Sven Utermohlen, RWE’s COO Europe, said in a statement.