Ocean Winds has received a positive ‘Environmental Decision’ for its BC-Wind project in the Baltic Sea.
The decision was taken by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (RDOS) in Gdansk, Poland. The project, which has a capacity of 400MW, will be built about 23km north of the municipalities of Choczewo and Krokowa in the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The approval comes after the project successfully completed the environmental impact assessment process.
Among the factors in the assessment were the occurrence of seabirds and migratory birds over the planned investment area, the activity of bats and the occurrence of marine mammals.
The BC-Wind project is on the right track to start commercial operations in 2027.
“Receiving the environmental decision brings Ocean Winds significantly closer to the first Ocean Winds wind farm in the Polish Baltic Sea,” said Grzegorz Gorski, COO of Ocean Winds.
“The environmental decision is an important milestone for Ocean Winds in the implementation of the BC-Wind project. Now we are focusing on the next phases of investment, especially securing the contracts with supply chain in line with the targeted project schedule.”
Project Director for BC-Wind Kacper Kostrzewa added: “Since 2019, we have conducted a series of comprehensive research involving more than 160 experts, 15 watercrafts, a remote-controlled submarine, and a specialised aircraft. We surveyed a large area of 298sq km and collected information on 140 different objects on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, of which 72 were classified as geological forms and six were identified as shipwrecks.”