At the headquarters of the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority, a press conference was held with the participation of Minister Marek Gróbarczyk, devoted to the new installation terminal for servicing offshore wind farms, which will be built in the port of Swinoujscie in the coming years, according to the company's release.
In accordance with the adopted assumptions, the terminal will enter the operational phase at the beginning of 2025. It will be the first terminal of this type on the Polish coast. The contract for the lease of the port area was signed on October 13 this year. less than a year after the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority acquired the land in the Swinoujscie port.
The investment plans of the ORLEN Capital Group include the first location of an offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea, i.e. the Baltic Power project, implemented in partnership with Northland Power, with a maximum installed capacity of up to 1.2 GW.
The installation terminal is a key element of the infrastructure for the implementation of the first and second phase of development of Polish offshore wind energy with the potential to service at least 12 projects in this area with a planned total capacity of up to 11 GW by 2040.
Currently, there are 11 ports in the Baltic Sea region (Swinoujscie, Gdynia, Gdańsk, Rostock, Sassnitz, Trelleborg, Ronne, Soderhamn, Widawa, Riga, Klaipeda), which theoretically can be taken into account when it comes to offshore wind energy. At the same time, the port of Ronne has its full potential in terms of servicing offshore wind energy until 2027. It is similar in the German port of Sassnitz. Therefore, naturally, Poland, in order to develop offshore wind energy, must have its own port with a dedicated terminal.
Due to its location, the installation terminal in the port of Świnoujście will support not only Polish offshore wind energy investments, but also projects in this area that will be developed in other countries in the Baltic Sea region.
The terminal itself will be built on 20 hectares. It will have an infrastructure capable of handling large vessels transporting key wind farm components, such as turbines, their towers and foundations. Specialist units dealing with the implementation of advanced construction works related to offshore wind farms will also leave the port.
As part of the investment, quays will be built with a length of about 485 m, technical depth of 12.5 m. They will be extended by 25 m into the water, with a load capacity of 50 kN / m2, with 10 stands for preliminary assembly of towers with a load capacity of 500 kN / m2. A new approach track, 12.5 m deep and 140 m wide, will lead to the quays. On land, storage yards will be built, which will allow the operation of up to 80 wind turbines annually with a capacity of 15MW each.
The scope of works carried out by Orlen Neptun II includes demolition works of cubature facilities in the area of future storage yards, access roads and parking lots, construction works on the leased property to the line of the existing quays, construction of storage and maneuvering yards as well as internal roads and parking lots, construction of cubature facilities (warehouses , workshops, social and office buildings, etc.) and the construction of technical infrastructure to the lines of the existing quays (division of works at junctions or wells located closest to the lines of the existing quays).
The second stage of the investment (prospective extension of the quay No. 3) will be implemented at a later date. As part of this stage, it is planned to carry out the following construction works, such as the construction of the structure of the wharf no.3 with equipment approx. 296.1 m long with pavements and full technical infrastructure - target stage, dredging works of the basin at wharf no.3 up to the ordinate -12.5 m and at the bottom strengthening site for Jack-up ship supports to the ordinate of min. -14.5 m above sea level, strengthening the bottom of the basin in front of the wharf no.3, extension of electrical, water and sewage systems, fire protection etc. and the modernization of navigational markings.