Hitachi wins Equinor's Baltyk II and III electrical contracts
Equinor
and Polenergia have selected Hitachi Energy to deliver electrical systems
infrastructure for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III offshore wind
projects in Poland.
MFW
Bałtyk II
and MFW
Bałtyk III,
located in the Baltic Sea approximately 27 km and 40 km from the port of
Łeba, are two of the largest and most advanced offshore wind farms being
developed in Poland.
Once operational, the wind farms will have a total installed capacity of
1,440 MW, enough to power more than 2 million Polish homes.
Under the awarded contract, Hitachi Energy will be responsible for the
Electrical System Design for the whole wind farm, from the wind turbines
to the point of connection into the grid at Słupsk-Wierzbięcino substation,
Poland. The projects are pending final investment decision, planned for
2024.
The contract covers system study analysis and the integration of all relevant
equipment of interfacing contractors, so that the overall wind farms are
designed with a safe, cost optimal and stable transmission system that
is compliant with the Polish Grid Code requirements.
In addition, Hitachi Energy is also responsible for delivery of the overall
power control system, overall telecom network, all high voltage equipment
at the offshore substation and the onshore substation, as well as turnkey
delivery of the whole onshore substation. The contract also covers interface
work at the grid connection in Slupsk.
“This is another key milestone for these offshore wind projects, which
will supply domestically produced renewable energy to the Polish power
grid. We look forward to working with Hitachi Energy in Poland and their
local subcontractors on bringing this competitive source of renewable energy
to Poland,” says Michał Kołodziejczyk, country manager of Equinor
in Poland.
“Earlier this year Equinor signed a strategic collaboration agreement
with Hitachi Energy to work more closely together on future projects. This
contract is the first since then, and we are very pleased to move into
execution of our collaboration. We look forward to developing a local supply
chain for electrical infrastructure to offshore wind farms along with Hitachi
Energy in Poland,” says Mette H. Ottøy, chief procurement officer
in Equinor.
Hitachi Energy has been present in Poland for 97 years, and have approximately
2,500 employees in Poland, with offices, technology, research and engineering
centers in Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław, Lublin, Katowice, Poznań and Gdańsk,
as well as factories in Łódź and Przasnysz. The contract targets between
25% and 35% of the contract value to be invested locally. This is based
on the total contract value, including equipment procurement from 3rd parties.
“We are ordering the ‘heart’ of the system for transmission and transformation
of energy from offshore wind farms. This is one of the most important contracts
of our Bałtyk projects. We are entering into a partnership with one of
the world's leading energy companies, whose HVAC technology is crucial
to the efficient transmission of energy from sea to land. We are building
a strong global team around the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III that
will enhance their competitiveness and support a sustainable energy future
for all of us. We look forward to joint initiatives to support the achievement
of our ambitious local content goals”, states Michał Michalski, Ph.D.,
president of the Management Board of Polenergia.
The combined capacity of both projects (1,440 MW) represents a substantial
part of the first phase of Polish offshore wind industry development scheme
with a total capacity of 5,900 MW. MFW Bałtyk II and III were awarded
Contracts for Difference (CfDs) in May 2021 by Poland’s Energy Regulatory
Office (ERO). The final investment decision for both projects is subject
to obtaining the necessary permits and is planned for 2024 with the first
power delivered to the grid in 2027.
For more information on offshore wind
farms worldwide, click
here.