Vestas has unveiled plans to establish a new blade factory in Szczecin, Poland, to supply the offshore wind market.
The factory is planned to produce blades for Vestas’ flagship offshore wind turbine, the V236-15.0MW, and is expected to start operations in 2026, creating more than 1000 direct jobs.
The new offshore blade factory is planned to be located at a site in northern Szczecin, which Vestas acquired in February 2023.
The site is close to the Ostrów Brdowski Island in Szczecin where Vestas’ planned nacelle assembly factory would be located.
The assembly factory is expected to start operations in 2025 and create 700 direct jobs.
“Poland is transforming its energy system and is a promising wind energy market with good wind conditions both onshore and offshore. Poland has a highly skilled labour force and growing wind industry that can become an offshore hub for the Baltic Region and the rest of Europe.
“We have been a market leader in Poland for more than 20 years, and I am honoured to announce our next investment plans in Szczecin,” said Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
The new factories are planned to support European and to some extent global demand, playing a crucial role in supporting Poland and the European offshore wind market and industry.
With the two new factories in Szczecin together with Vestas’ already existing footprint, Vestas is expected to soon employ more than 2500 people in Poland.
Vestas’ manufacturing footprint strategy is to prioritise markets where there’s long-term certainty around market conditions and it has secured a sustainable order volume.
Other locations where those conditions are met are also being considered for new capacity.