Equinor and Polenergia have started seabed research for their 1560MW Baltyk I offshore wind farm in the Polish Baltic Sea.
Geoquip Marine is conducting the operations with support from survey vessel Dina Polaris.
The company will obtain the necessary geological data to better understand the conditions of the seabed in the place where Baltic Sea I will be located. Work is expected to end in the second half of October.
The survey campaign will help prepare the project to participate in an auction to obtain a contract for difference (CfD), with the developers looking to prepare to bid in 2025.
“The research is completely safe for the natural environment. We conduct them away from the coastline – approximately 80km from the Polish coast and approximately 90km from the Swedish coast,” said Marta Porzuczek, Director of the Department Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in the Polenergia Group.
“This is an area of a special economic zone where the Baltyk I offshore wind farm is planned to cover an area of approximately 130 sq km. The assumptions of this investment and the development of the Baltyk II and III projects are the subject of our regularly organised meetings with the inhabitants of seaside towns,”
Baltyk I Eirik Strom Uthaug Project Director said: “In spring, we successfully completed wind and sea wave intensity research for the Baltyk I project. The geotechnical campaign that has just been launched is another milestone on the way to the implementation of this investment.
“Based on the data on the structure of the seabed obtained during the research, we will create a feasibility study and initially design a system of turbines and an offshore power station as part of our largest wind farm in the Baltic Sea.”