Change blows over the Baltic Sea as Poland bets on offshore wind

Euronews

4 hours ago

The energy transition is one of the most important challenges the European Union is facing. While the goal is clear – to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – the road to get there is sometimes bumpy.
The struggles of the energy transition are particularly evident in the wind energy sector, which, despite its dynamic development, still faces numerous barriers.
Poland, being one of the largest CO₂ emitters in the EU, is an example of both the opportunities and the difficulties of this transition.
For the first time in history, renewable energy sources (RES) in Poland trumped coal in the national energy mix. This is not a one-off incident, experts say, but a sign of a lasting shift in the country's energy landscape.
"Every day, during daylight hours, we have much more energy from RES than from coal," comments Piotr Czopek, vice president at the Polish Wind Energy Association, emphasising that the country is just entering a new chapter in its energy transition.
Renewable energy, as the cheapest source available today, can become the foundation for the future competitiveness of Polish industry in the European and global arena. Offshore wind energy plays a special role as a sector that is just coming to life.
Poland has significant wind energy potential, especially in Pomerania and the central part of the country. According to the Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA), the installed capacity of wind farms in Poland exceeded 9 GW at the beginning of 2025.
However, the development of onshore wind turbines has been blocked for years by the '10H rule' - a regulation requiring wind turbines to be built no closer than ten times their height from the nearest buildings.
Although a 2023 amendment softened these restrictions and gave the sector a much-needed investment boost, experts warn that further reforms are still necessary to unlock the full potential of wind energy.
"Offshore wind energy? From the point of view of these renewables, it's the most stable source," says Czopek.
"Anyone who has been to the Baltic Sea knows that it always blows properly there."
"This makes this power industry very stable, it produces a lot of energy, on top of that, it is far away from human settlements, so no one is bothered by it. Secondly, the Baltic Sea is a relatively shallow sea, which facilitates investment," he adds.
Although no offshore wind farm in Poland is yet fully operational, the first turbines are already standing in the Baltic Sea. Construction by the Baltic Power consortium (Orlen and Canada's Northland Power) aims to create a 1200 MW farm.
Further projects will start next year, and by 2030, Poland plans to reach 6,000 MW of energy from offshore wind farms.
As experts emphasise, this is not only an energy investment – it is also an opportunity for the industry.
"We are at the initial, ascending stage. Already today, many large factories are being built in Poland – in Szczecin, in Gdansk and in other cities," Czopek says. Baltic Towers in Gdansk is just one example of a growing manufacturing base.
Importantly, Poland is attracting not only domestic companies but also global players who are opening production facilities here.
"No one will invest hundreds of millions of euros in Poland if they don't see that they can make money from this business," he emphasises.
Offshore wind energy is also an export opportunity, as turbine components, infrastructure, or design services can go to markets all over the world.
At the European level, wind energy is also growing in strength. According to WindEurope, EU countries installed a total of 18 GW of new wind capacity in 2024, mainly in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
However, the EU faces rising component costs, inflation and global competition, above all from China, which dominates turbine production.
Brussels plans to counter these trends through the European Act on Carbon Neutral Industries and strategic raw material partnerships. The aim is to increase Europe's technological and energy independence, especially given the ongoing geopolitical crisis.
Social challenges are also not insignificant. In many regions – both in Poland and Western Europe – residents are protesting against the construction of wind farms, concerned about noise, landscape aesthetics or the impact on local ecosystems. Social acceptance is playing an increasingly important role, which, as research shows, can be increased through the participation of local communities in investments and a fair distribution of profits.
Wind turbines have become a symbol of a green future and the fight against CO₂ emissions. However, questions are increasingly being asked about how much it really costs to build wind farms and whether their carbon footprint contradicts the idea of 'green energy'?
The construction of a wind farm – whether onshore or offshore – is a financially intensive undertaking. According to WindEurope, the cost of installing one wind turbine on land ranges from €1.2 to €1.6 million for each megawatt of energy-producing capacity.
For offshore or marine farms, the costs are even higher, as much as €3 to €5 million per megawatt.
The total cost includes manufacturing and transporting the turbines, the construction of the foundations, network connections (often tens of kilometres of cables), engineering and maintenance work.
Experts point out that, although wind energy is 'free', the infrastructure needed to generate it involves huge investment and technical costs.
A typical wind turbine requires around 200-300 litres of specialised oil every 1.5-2 years. For offshore farms, the logistics and labour costs can far exceed the price of the lubricant itself.
The industry is now looking for ways to reduce oil consumption or change lubrication technology altogether. Ideas are also emerging for the use of greener bio-liquids.
On 18-19 November, the largest offshore wind energy conference in Poland, and also the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, will be held in Warsaw.
As the organisers, the Polish Wind Energy Association, point out, the event is intended to bring together investors and supply chain companies.
"It's a space to discuss investments and to do business – because that's what it's all about, to be able to meet and talk about what we can do together," it says.
Poland is at a turning point today. Although only a few years ago coal dominated the domestic energy sector indivisibly, today it is wind, both literally and figuratively, that is blowing in the sails of the transformation.
Renewable energy is not only changing the way we produce electricity. It is also changing the way we think about the future – greener, more competitive and more independent.