Equinor and Polenergia have signed a contract with Van Oord for the seabed protection work at the Baltyk 2 and Baltyk 3 offshore wind farms in Poland.
The seabed protection in the form of stone surcharges will be conducted by Van Oord. The contract is valued around $100 million, according to media reports.
The signed contract governs the procurement, transportation and execution of the seabed protection, which consists in the precise placement of stone surcharges to protect cables and foundations.
Equinor and Polenergia are developing three offshore wind farm projects in the Baltic Sea with a total capacity of up to 3 GW, which will be able to power 4 million households in Poland with green energy.
The first phase of development is to include the Baltyk 2 and Baltyk 3 projects, consisting of 100 turbines of 14.4 MW each, and combined capacity of 1.44 GW. The first energy from them is expected to flow into the grid in 2027, and the commercial phase of use will begin in 2028.
“Implementation of the contract will secure the foundations of wind turbines, offshore transformer stations, and the routes of internal cables and those connecting the Baltyk 2 and 3 wind farms to the Polish offshore grid. This will protect the underwater infrastructure from erosion processes and is intended to prevent damage to the cables,” said Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczak, CEO of Equinor Polska.
“We still have to make a final investment decision for the Baltyk 2 and Baltyk 3 projects. This will give us the green light to start construction of these farms,” added Adam Purwin, CEO of Polenergia.