How to make this ambition a reality was one of the topics discussed during the 7th DISE Energy Congress that took place in Wroclaw, Poland on September 29-30th, 2021.

The theme chosen for this year’s Congress was “sector coupling”, recognizing the fact that to deliver the energy transition and the EU carbon emission targets, a comprehensive transformation of the European energy systems will be required. As such, any future projects will need to be developed with the integration of the three key sectors (electricity, heat and transport) in mind.

Offshore wind has a fundamental role to play in this process, especially in Poland, a country that is still very much dependent on coal for its electricity generation. The Polish exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea has prime conditions for windfarm operations – strong and steady winds as well as shallow water depths. The Polish government is aiming for at least 12GW to come from offshore wind by 2040.

That is why offshore wind majors have already teamed up with Polish energy companies and secured contract-for-difference (CfD) awards for a combined capacity of 6GW (all to come onstream by 2030).

The participants of the DISE offshore wind panel (which included representatives of the major developers) agreed that for this ambitious program to come to fruition two key things are required:

• a stable regulatory environment (including, a clear and transparent permitting regime) that gives the developers and investors peace of mind
• sufficient investment in critical infrastructure such as the transmission grid and local port facilities.

Rafal Libera, who represented Acteon on the panel, explained that in the next decade we will see unprecedented growth in the volume of offshore wind farm projects globally.

It is estimated that, on average, 26GW will be installed every year, which represents a sevenfold increase in comparison with the previous decade. Most of these projects will be developed based on a new generation of 12MW+ turbines supported by larger and heavier foundations, which will, in turn, require larger installation vessels as well as more powerful drills and hammers. Acteon has responded to the challenges associated with larger foundations by introducing the world’s largest hammer to date, which has been working successfully in the market since early 2021.

Predictability of project schedules (particularly in a new market like Poland) is vital for a global services provider like Acteon to plan, manage the allocation of its spread and, at the end of the day, enable the developers to deliver the projects on time and budget.

Moreover, the whole supply chain will have to work together to solve the challenges that come with the significant growth in scale of the offshore wind structures. Rafal explained that Acteon is looking to work together with the Polish supply chain who can provide not only the necessary local knowledge but the experience that would be attractive to developers across the Baltic Sea and globally.

When it comes to reaching carbon neutrality, this much is clearer: cross-sectoral collaboration and a coordinated approach is of paramount importance. This is in particular the case of the Baltic basin, where the Polish Phase I windfarms are a prelude to future transnational projects that will aim to export electricity across borders and incorporate green hydrogen production. Acteon is ready to play a key role in making it happen.